HyBOT · Parasite-inspired Soft-rigid Hybrid Microrobots for Brain Tissue Penetration

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Project objective

Biological soft tissues, such as brain tissues, present a major challenge for wireless biomedical microdevices to penetrate, due to the complex anatomy and viscoelastic mechanical properties. Parasitic organisms can penetrate plant roots using a hardened stylet while navigating with the soft body undulation. The combination of the rigid and soft biological morphology allows these parasites to fracture, anchor to, and extract nutrients from the plant cells. Inspired by these parasites, I propose a novel microrobot with a stiff head and a flexible body designed to penetrate brain tissue, enabling the treatment of hard-to-treat brain cancers, such as glioblastoma. These cancer regions are often inaccessible to large surgical tools due to their critical functional importance. In this project, the microrobot will be fabricated using two-photon lithography to achieve precise micro-scale features. Theoretical modeling and finite element analysis will be employed to explore the robot-tissue interactions, optimizing the design and actuation parameters. The propulsion will be validated in hydrogel models and ex vivo animal experiments. This research aims to develop new microrobots for glioblastoma treatment, paving the way for innovative minimally-invasive medical procedures.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• DEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM HEIDELBERG · HeidelbergCoordinatorGermany

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101209455