Oversized surgical instruments do not allow conducting really effective surgeries on brain vessels. However, the scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with a technological breakthrough in the field of brain treatment, when they suggested the use of a miniature “worm” created from polymer materials and containing integrated particles of a ferromagnet. The proposed device will be able to move inside the tiniest brain vessels.
The concept, developed by the MIT scientists, minimizes surgical intervention in the sensitive area of the human brain. Ferromagnet elements enable controlling the device by using a plain magnet placed outside the human body.
The researchers have tested the work of “robotic worms” on a silicone brain model filled with an artificial imitation of human blood. Guided by a magnet located outside the model, the robotic worms quickly moved through miniature vessels.
