Slime robots made for use in surgery
The Chinese University of Hong Kong research was originally published in March and the results were published by Wiley.
Another group of researchers from the same university took this concept a step further by using adhesive tape to give magnetized particles different shapes, with these “microbots” able to change shape depending on the magnetic field they are exposed to.
In their experiments, the team demonstrated the soft robots’ ability to move in water and on flat surfaces, while one crawled through pig stomach tissue to grab and remove medication from an ulcer.
The team says the robot-making process can be automated and predicts that one day small robots could be printed on long rolls and then cut to size.
The results of the study were recently published in the article “Untethered small magnetic soft robot with programmable magnetization and integrated multi-functional modules”.
Although it is possible to break ground for the future of some surgical procedures, the toxicity of the magnetic materials used remains a challenge. Research into how to reduce this problem continues, and the team has created the first slime robot working on a protective layer to make the substance safe for medical applications.
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