Microrobotic platform for the image-guided endovascular intervention

Overview

Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC) developed a microrobotic platform for the image-guided endovascular intervention for treatments of vascular diseases. The microrobotic platform utilizes the nanorobots swarm and the magnetic actuation system for active drug delivery to a targeted region inside the vessels, delivering high dose of drugs to the region locally with lower overall required drug dosage.

Technical name of innovation

Research completion

Commercialisation opportunities

Problem addressed

Endovascular interventions are essential for the treatment of various vascular diseases. However, they are often limited by the tethered design and size of the medical tools, making access to tiny and tortuous vessels time consuming or even impossible, causing complications or even death of the patients.

Innovation

Targeted drug delivery in tiny and tortuous vessels with high efficiency using microrobotic swarm
Enhanced thrombolysis rate by the chemical-mechanical interaction between the nanorobots and blood clot
Cleaning blood clot that can hardly be reached by conventional methods

Key impact

Potentially provide a new enabling technology for a more efficient treatment of thrombosis with reduced drug dosage and enhanced thrombolysis rate, minimizing the side effect of thrombolysis and widening the therapeutic time window.
Benefit millions of patients with different thrombosis diseases.
Pave the way towards the in vivo application of nanorobotics for different clinical uses

Award

IEEE ARM 2020 Toshio Fukuda Best Paper Award in Mechatronics
IEEE CASE 2020 Best Student Paper Award
MARSS 2022 Best Student Paper Award

Application

Endovascular intervention for thrombosis therapy
Treatment in tiny and tortuous vessels deep inside human body

Patent

2 US non-provisional Patent Filed US20210369373A1 US20210393356A1

Website

Through the InnoHK funding support of the HKSAR Government, the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC) was established in 2020 by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in collaboration with ETH Zürich, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Hong Kong. We bring the worlds of medicine and robotics together, focusing on technological innovation with a strong emphasis on clinical translation and direct patient benefits.

Furthermore, we support three areas of research including: Endoluminal multi-scale robotic platforms for diagnostics and therapeutics, Magnetic-guided endoluminal robotic platform, Image-guided robotic interventions.

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