Medical Robotics

Nanotechnology, perhaps, has been most popularly recognized for it’s applications in robotics.  Nano-robotics, although having many applications in other areas (such as particle manipulation and, has the most useful and variety of uses in medical fields.

Drugs have been shown to be effective during treatment and so has surgery. However, both are only temporary. We do not have much control over the drugs that have entered our body. As mentioned in the "Applications in Drugs and Therapeutics" page, nanotechnology can play an important role by being used for designing drug delivery systems.

Nanorobots, once fully developed, will be more effective than drugs. This is because nanobots cab always be present in the body, fighting off pathogens such as viruses and tumors. Nanorobots will not require any additional treatment and will become relatively cheap after development.

Some of the potential applications for nano-robotics in medicine include early diagnosis and targeted drug delivery for cancer, biomedical instrumentation, surgery, pharmacokinetics, monitoring of diabetes, and health care. Medical nanotechnology in the future will use nanorobots injected into the patient to perform treatments at cellular levels (Citation 7).

Some other possible applications using medical nanorobots are as follows:

·        To cure skin diseases, a cream containing nanorobots may be used. This cream would remove the right amounts of dead skin cells, remove excess oils which may cause oily skin, insert missing oils, apply the specifically right amounts of natural moisturizing compounds. Dermatological problems would thus be avoided or removed.

·        A mouthwash full of water and smart nanorobots could identify and destroy pathogenic bacteria, particles of food, plaque, or tartar, while allowing the harmless flora of the mouth to flourish. Being suspended in liquid and able to swim about, devices would be able to reach surfaces beyond reach of toothbrush bristles or the floss fibers. As short-lifetime medical nano-devices, the bots could be built to last only a few minutes in the body before falling apart into materials of the sort found in foods (such as fibers and other organic compounds). This would not cause any toxic harmful effects in the body, and there would be no need for toothbrushes.

·        Medical nanodevices could augment the immune system by finding and disabling unwanted bacteria and viruses. When an invader is identified, it can be punctured, letting its contents spill out and ending its effectiveness. If the contents were known to be hazardous by themselves, then the immune machine could hold on to it long enough to dismantle it more completely. With even more innovation, pathogens could be broken down into simple substances such as oxygen and extra cellular material which can be used for benefit of the body!

·        Devices working in the bloodstream could nibble away at arteriosclerotic deposits, widening the affected blood vessels. Various nano-devices could restore the strength of the arteries and veins. With such applications, many heart attacks would be prevented.

(Citation 8).

The video on the right shows the workings of a nanorobot in the bloodstream.

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