Medical micro-robots would require carefully crafted regulatory oversight
In the 1988 Steven Spielberg film Inner Space, Dennis Quaid’s character uses some sort of miniaturization technology to shrink himself so small that he can be injected into the body of a human being in a tiny submersible to reach various organs and systems. While our ability to miniaturize humans remains within the realm of science fiction, thanks to remarkable advancements in nanotechnology, it is becoming possible for us to achieve some of what was described in the movie through the use of tiny machines capable of operating at that scale.
Micro-robots are tiny specialized devices capable of performing a range of different tasks at hard-to-reach sites—typically in micro-tubes and bio-chips, but also within the blood vessels of living organisms, which is relevant to medical applications. Even though this technology is still at an early stage, the opportunities it offers for early diagnosis, microsurgery, targeted drug delivery and disease surveillance are already becoming evident.
For instance, micro-bots could be used for precisely targeted drug delivery. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have created micro-bots to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells, and have apparently shown promising results in treating tumours in mice.
When precisely measured doses can be delivered directly to diseased cells, it is possible to significantly reduce the side effects of traditional chemotherapy, where there is no option but to distribute the drugs throughout the body. Micro-bots can also be used for minimally invasive surgery.
This means that we can now think of undertaking extremely delicate procedures from within the body using tiny incisions. This will allow us to radically reduce surgical trauma
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