(PCM) The director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Daniela Rus, has shared news about her teams latest invention which is a pill-sized robot that when swallowed by a patient would be able to complete repairs within the human body.
The way it works is that once swallowed the tiny robot would unfold like origami and it would then be guided by a tiny magnet from outside the body to remove a foreign object from the stomach or treat a wound by administering medication. This invention would eliminate certainly types of invasive surgery to solve a plethora of medical conditions.
The team would place the accordion-shaped robot into an inch-long, 0.09-ounce pill, which dissolves in the stomach with a few moments. The robot then expands to 1.4 in. by 0.7 in. by 0.3 in. Doctors can then generate magnetic fields near the patient to guide the robot through the stomach, where they can manipulate it to perform tasks. The robot would later just break down in the body the same way as food.
Many might be wondering about the cost behind such an incredible invention, as it sounds like it could be on the expensive side. Rus claims that the equipment to manipulate the robot would be a bit on the pricey side, however the actual creation of the robot itself would only cost about $100. Rus and her team have tested the robot in a silicon-molded prototype stomach and are seeking approval from MIT’s animal care committee to try it in pigs. They claim the results are looking incredibly promising thus far! Definitely a cool concept!
