This paper will describe a micro/nano scale medical robot that is within the range of current engineering technology. It is intended for the treatment and/or elimination of medical problems where accumulation of undesired organic substances interferes with normal bodily functions, such as:
Blood clots leading to stroke
Accumulation of scar tissue
Localised pockets of infection
Accumulation of undesired complex molecules in the lungs
While much speculative information has been published on possible far-future applications of nanotechnology using advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, relatively little has been published on applying existing engineering techniques to the problems in order to create a solution that can be incrementally improved as the technology becomes available. We will describe a mobile robot created using existing technology that can be used to seek out and destroy inimical tissue within the human body that cannot be accessed by other means.
The construction and use of such devices will result in a number of benefits. Not only will it provide either cures or a means of controlling or reducing the effects of a number of ailments, but it will also provide valuable empirical data for the improvement and further development of such machines. Practical data garnered from such operations at the microscopic level will allow the elimination of a number of false trails and point the way to more effective methods of dealing with the associated problems of operating at that level.
We will address and propose solutions to problems such as size, method of entry into the body, means of propulsion, means of maintaining a fixed position, control of the device, power supply, means of locating substances to be eliminated, means of eliminating aforesaid substances, and how to remove the device from the body afterward. During the course of this we will also discuss the appropriate manufacturing techniques for the construction of the device.
Leslie Rubinstein, President
6572 Jack Pine Crescent, Greely ON
Canada K4P 1E1