Haptic-Based Real-Time Platform for Microswarm Steering in a Multi-Bifurcation Vascular Network.

The use of electromagnetic fields to control a collection of magnetic nanoparticles, known as a microswarm, has many promising applications. Current research often makes use of accurate but time-consuming simulations lacking real-time human input. On the contrary, human interaction is possible with a real-time simulator, allowing the collection of valuable user interaction data.

Generation of magnetic biohybrid microrobots based on MSC.sTRAIL for targeted stem cell delivery and treatment of cancer.

Background: Combining the power of magnetic guidance and the biological activities of stem cells transformed into biohybrid microrobots holds great promise for the treatment of several diseases including cancer.

Results: We found that human MSCs can be readily loaded with magnetic particles and that the resulting biohybrid microrobots could be guided by a rotating magnetic field. Rotating magnetic fields have the potential to be applied in the human setting and steer therapeutic stem cells to the desired sites of action in the body.

A Novel Non-Invasive Intervention for Removing Occlusions From Shunts Using an Abrading Magnetic Microswarm.

Objective: Shunts are often employed as internal medical devices for draining aberrant fluids from organs. However, depositions of calcification in the shunt walls lead to its failure, requiring frequent replacements. The current surgical procedures for implanting shunts are invasive.

Studies on Aggregated Nanoparticles Steering during Deep Brain Membrane Crossing.

Many central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), affect the deep brain region, which hinders their effective treatment. The hippocampus, a deep brain area critical for learning and memory, is especially vulnerable to damage during early stages of AD. Magnetic drug targeting has shown high potential in delivering drugs to a targeted disease site effectively by applying a strong electromagnetic force.

A Needle-Type Microrobot for Targeted Drug Delivery by Affixing to a Microtissue.

A needle-type microrobot (MR) for targeted drug delivery is developed to stably deliver drugs to a target microtissue (MT) for a given period time without the need for an external force after affixing. The MRs are fabricatedby 3D laser lithography and nickel (Ni)/titanium oxide (TiO ) layers are coated by physical vapor deposition. The translational velocity of the MR is 714 µm s at 20 mT and affixed to the target MT under the control of a rotating magnetic field.

Steering Algorithm for a Flexible Microrobot to Enhance Guidewire Control in a Coronary Angioplasty Application.

Magnetically driven microrobots have been widely studied for various biomedical applications in the past decade. An important application of these biomedical microrobots is heart disease treatment. In intravascular treatments, a particular challenge is the submillimeter-sized guidewire steering; this requires a new microrobotic approach.

A Magnetically Controlled Soft Microrobot Steering a Guidewire in a Three-Dimensional Phantom Vascular Network.

Magnetically actuated soft robots may improve the treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Significant progress has been made in the development of soft robotic systems that steer catheters. A more challenging task, however, is the development of systems that steer sub-millimeter-diameter guidewires during intravascular treatments; a novel microrobotic approach is required for steering.

A Novel Magnetic Actuation Scheme to Disaggregate Nanoparticles and Enhance Passage across the Blood-Brain Barrier.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders drug delivery to the brain. Despite various efforts to develop preprogramed actuation schemes for magnetic drug delivery, the unmodeled aggregation phenomenon limits drug delivery performance. This paper proposes a novel scheme with an aggregation model for a feed-forward magnetic actuation design.

Functionalized electromagnetic actuation method for aggregated nanoparticles steering.

Despite the promising results in magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) based targeted drug delivery (TDD), the aggregation of the magnetic nanoparticles deteriorates targeting performance. This paper aims to introduce a magnetic actuation function for aggregated nanoparticles steering in vascular network. To improve the drug delivery performance, first the governing dynamics has been introduced, next the modified field function (MFF) concept has been proposed and finally a computational platform for a Y-shape channel has been used to simulate the particles steering performance.

Real-Time Two-Dimensional Magnetic Particle Imaging for Electromagnetic Navigation in Targeted Drug Delivery.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are effective drug carriers. By using electromagnetic actuated systems, MNPs can be controlled noninvasively in a vascular network for targeted drug delivery (TDD). Although drugs can reach their target location through capturing schemes of MNPs by permanent magnets, drugs delivered to non-target regions can affect healthy tissues and cause undesirable side effects.

Comprehensive modelling and simulation of cylindrical nanoparticles manipulation by using a virtual reality environment.

With the expansion of nanotechnology, robots based on atomic force microscope (AFM) have been widely used as effective tools for displacing nanoparticles and constructing nanostructures. One of the most limiting factors in AFM-based manipulation procedures is the inability of simultaneously observing the controlled pushing and displacing of nanoparticles while performing the operation. To deal with this limitation, a virtual reality environment has been used in this paper for observing the manipulation operation.

Osmotin-loaded magnetic nanoparticles with electromagnetic guidance for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent age-related neurodegenerative disease, pathologically characterized by the accumulation of aggregated amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain. Here, we describe for the first time the development of a new, pioneering nanotechnology-based drug delivery approach for potential therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly AD. We demonstrated the delivery of fluorescent carboxyl magnetic Nile Red particles (FMNPs) to the brains of normal mice using a functionalized magnetic field (FMF) composed of positive- and negative-pulsed magnetic fields generated by electromagnetic coils.