Scientists from the University of Twente in the Netherlands are breaking up hard-to-reach blood clots without surgery or drugs. They’re using an innovative blood clot-busting millirobot the size of a grain of rice, which can swim through blood vessels and drill into the clots. The corkscrew body has a small magnet embedded to help it swim and steer against the blood flow to arrive at the clot. Once the millirobot breaks up the clot, the robot swims back to the tube it launched from.
The invention offers a new way to treat clots that are difficult to reach or dissolve. They can also potentially deliver drugs to specific locations in a body, such as tumors or infections.
The technology results from a partnership between Radboud University Medical Center and Triticum Medical. Once the robots are more efficient and safer for human use, the team will explore other applications, including cleaning arteries and removing plaque.
