Millimeter-Scale In Vivo Micro-Robot Swarm MicroVoyager Completes Animal Trials: Autonomous Blood Vessel Cruising to Clear Blood Clots
ETH Zurich's MicroVoyager millimeter-scale micro-robot swarm has completed large-scale animal trials in pigs, with 50 micro-robots autonomously cruising through blood vessels and successfully dissolving experimental blood clots.
Millimeter-Scale In Vivo Micro-Robot Swarm MicroVoyager Completes Animal Trials: Autonomous Blood Vessel Cruising to Clear Blood Clots
On June 10, ETH Zurich's Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems announced that its MicroVoyager millimeter-scale in vivo micro-robot swarm has completed its first large-scale animal trial in pigs. Fifty micro-robots, each just 0.8 millimeters in diameter, were injected into a pig's venous system and, guided by external magnetic fields, autonomously cruised to the site of blood clot formation and successfully dissolved the experimental clots through localized release of thrombolytic drugs.
Each MicroVoyager robot consists of a biodegradable polymer shell and a magnetic nanoparticle core, and can be naturally broken down and absorbed by the body within 48 hours after completing its mission. No vascular damage or inflammatory response was observed during the experiment. The team plans to begin human clinical trials in 2031.
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