Highlights:
• Robots will be sent in the brain to cure mental illness
• Robots can be injected in the body through injections
• Can also treat cancer tumors, epilepsy, stroke etc
• Trials on large animals such as sheep and pigs
Bionaut Labs, based in California, USA, is working to send robots into human brains to cure mental illnesses. According to the company, clinical trials of this technology on humans will also be done in the next two years.
Robots will be sent through injection
Microrobots are small metal cylinders shaped like bullets that follow a pre-programmed path. According to Michael Schpigelmacher, CEO of Bionaut Labs, these robots are so tiny that they can be injected into the human body with the help of injection. These can then be guided towards the brain with the help of magnets.
How do microrobots work?
Magnetic energy has been used to send robots towards the brain. Bionaut Labs has developed the robots in collaboration with Germany’s Max Planck Research Institute. To send the robots to the brain, they used magnetic energy instead of ultrasonic or optical energy, because it does not harm the body.
These magnetic coils were placed on the patient’s head and linked to a computer. With its help, robots can be moved in the right direction and the affected part of the brain can be fixed. This complete device can be easily carried anywhere and it uses 10 to 100 times less electricity than MRI scan.
Microrobots will cure major diseases
Microrobots may also be used to treat cancer tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and stroke in the brain. Microrobots will be able to cure Dandy-Walker syndrome. It is a congenital disease, due to which fluid starts filling inside the brain and cysts up to the size of a golf ball also start growing. Due to this the pressure on the brain increases and the balance between mind and body is not able to settle.
Trials on animals
Michael says that his company has already used this technology on large animals such as sheep and pigs. Trial results show that the technology is safe for humans as well. Baynot Labs received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year.
