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Miniscule magnetic bots are about a 20th of size of human red blood cell and can be directed remotely
Miniscule magnetic nanobots that can travel deep inside the brain to repair deadly aneurysms have been created by the University of Edinburgh.
The sphere-shaped nanobots, which are about a 20th of the size of a human red blood cell, are made from iron oxide, which becomes magnetic when placed in an external magnetic field.
They also carry thrombin, an enzyme crucial in blood clotting and inflammation.
Brain aneurysms are a bulge or ballooning in the weakened area of a blood vessel that can burst and cause dangerous bleeding if not stopped quickly.
In laboratory tests, several hundred billion nanobots were injected into an artery and the swarm was directed remotely to the site of an aneurysm using magnets and real-time ultrasound scans.
Once there, the nanobots clustered together inside the aneurysm and heated to more than 109F (43C) using an alternating magnetic field to melt their protective coating and release the clotting drug to the precise location.
Scans showed that after the clotting had happened, the aneurysm vanished, leaving a healthy blood vessel.
Dr Qi Zhou, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering,who co-led the study, said: “Nanorobots are set to open new frontiers in medicine – potentially allowing us to carry out surgical repairs with fewer risks than conventional treatments and target drugs with pinpoint accuracy in hard-to-reach parts of the body.
“Our study is an important step towards bringing these technologies closer to treating critical medical conditions in a clinical setting.”
In Britain, about 2 to 3 per cent of people will develop a brain aneurysm, which is caused by weaknesses in the walls of the blood vessels in the brain. About one in 15,000 people suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm in the UK each year.
If the aneurysm leaks or ruptures, it causes bleeding in the brain, known as a hemorrhagic stroke, which can be life-threatening and needs immediate treatment.
The condition is treated by threading a tube along blood vessels and inserting metal coils to stem the blood flow, or a mesh tube called a stent, to divert the bloodstream in the artery.
But the body can reject the implanted materials, and patients must be given anti-blood clotting drugs that can cause bleeding and stomach problems.
For the new trials, the team tested the nanobots on arteries in vitro and animals, but are hopeful that they could soon move to testing in humans.
Experts also believe that the nanobots could be used to repair organs and other blood vessels, as well as moving medicines to precise locations in the body.
The team, which worked alongside clinicians from Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, have also developed nanorobots to remove blood clots, which could one day be used to treat stroke patients.