Abstract
Intravascular microrobots have emerged as a promising tool for vascular diseases. They can be wirelessly and precisely manipulated with a high degree of freedom. Previous studies have evaluated their drilling performance and locomotion, and showed the feasibility of using microrobots for biomedical applications in two-dimensional space. However, it is critical to validate micro-drillers in a three-dimensional (3D) environment because gravity plays an important role in a 3D environment and significantly affects the performance of the micro-drillers in vascular networks. In this work, we fabricated magnetic drilling actuators (MDAs) and characterized their locomotion and drilling performance in vascular network-mimicking fluidic channels. The MDAs were precisely manipulated in the fluidic channel network in both horizontal and vertical planes, selecting and moving through the desired path via the junctions of multiple channels. The MDAs also accurately navigated an artificial thrombosis in an artificial 3D vascular network and successfully drilled through it. The results obtained here confirmed the precise manipulation and drilling performance of the developed MDAs in 3D. We think that the MDAs presented in this paper have great potential as intravascular drillers for precise thrombus treatment.
Highlights
Intravascular microrobots show promise for treatment of vascular diseases and are expected to remedy the shortcomings of current modalities[14]
After minimally invasive introduction into the body, the magnetic drilling actuators (MDAs) is precisely navigated to a lesion in the vascular network by adjusting an external magnetic field; it begins to drill through the thrombus to open a pathway to recirculate the blood
MDAs were fabricated with double, triple, or quadruple spirals to investigate the effect on thrust force and determine the optimal number of spirals for propulsion and drilling performance in a 3D phantom vascular network (Fig. 1c)
Summary
Intravascular microrobots show promise for treatment of vascular diseases and are expected to remedy the shortcomings of current modalities[14]. The microrobots were manipulated in a thrombosis-containing single channel or Y-shaped channel in a horizontal plane This is not representative of the in vivo situation; the vascular network is complex and three-dimensional (3D). The MDAs were manipulated under a rotating magnetic field (RMF) generated from the EMA system and characterized for their locomotion and drilling performance in vascular-network-mimicking fluidic channels in both horizontal and vertical planes. To demonstrate their feasibility as intravascular drillers, for CTO treatment, we assessed the navigation of MDAs at the junction of multiple channels and their drilling performance in a 3D phantom cardiovascular network with a thrombus
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
