Caterpillar-Like Robots Could Deliver Drugs or Perform Noninvasive Surgery

This soft magnetic millirobot can fold, roll, and grab with its caterpillar-inspired legs.

The tiny millirobots are controlled using magnetic fields and can grab and release objects and move them from one place to another by rolling or folding. (📷: City University of Hong Kong via YouTube)

Scientists from the City University of Hong Kong have developed tiny, caterpillar-like robots that could be used to deliver drugs internally and perform minimally invasive surgery within the body. The soft, biodegradable, magnetic millirobot design was inspired by the walking and grabbing capabilities of insects. Moreover, the robots undergo rapid biodegradation over a few days, meaning they will not have to be retrieved after serving their function in the body, instead breaking down into harmless particles.

The millirobots have the ability to interact with soft tissues without causing damage. When it comes to drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery, these robots could provide a sophisticated means to access and treat areas of the body that would otherwise be difficult to target. The robots are about the size of a fingernail and feature an insect-like claw that can grasp and transport small objects. They can also move by rolling and folding, enabling them to navigate inside the body via cavities, such as the gastrointestinal tract.

The researchers designed the millirobots using a gelatin material impregnated with iron oxide microparticles, which makes them highly responsive to magnetic fields. It’s that combination that allows the scientists to extend and retract that gelatin structure, essentially providing legs that move the robots. The team tested their millirobots in the lab by coating them in a drug solution, then used the magnetic fields to move them through a model of the gastrointestinal system. Once the target location was reached, the robots then unfurled their caterpillar-like bodies, thereby releasing the drug.

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