Mini-robot swims through bloodstream

Two Israeli scientists may have created the catalyst for a medical revolution with their new project: a tiny, 1-millimeter-diameter robot which is capable of crawling through human veins and arteries. The bot can cling to vessel walls using small, powerful arms which protrude from a hub in its center. Manned control is accomplished by using a magnetic field outside of the body, and the robot is able to swim against the flow of blood, as well as squeeze through a variety of arterial openings. Right now the doctors don't know what the medical applications might be, though they speculate that a large number of the bots could be used to fight certain types of cancer. Other ideas on the table include using the bots to exact revenge on anyone opposing their crazy ideas.

[Thanks, Ralph]

[Grey Acumen @ Jun 27th 2007 10:07AM]

I have to admit, that looks just plain out too creepy for me to let anyone put it in my bloodstream. That totally looks like it's carrying c4 to the spinal cord or getting ready to deliver a load of arsenic directly to my heart.

Still, give it a few more years, maybe we'll adjust. Might take a bit though.

[fred @ Jun 27th 2007 10:27AM]

That just mad my skin crawl. For some reason it vaguely reminds me of that movie Runaway with Tom Selleck.

[Daniel Spiegel @ Jun 27th 2007 10:13AM]

"Mini-robot swims through bloodstream..."

...And Into Our Hearts.

It was there, just waiting for you.

I am disappointed, Engadget.

[Jeff Tracy @ Jun 27th 2007 10:23AM]

This thing does look incredibly creepy, but to cancer patients, who already allow doctors to put toxic chemicals into their bloodstream, this may not seem like a bad option to have. Not that this is ready for mass adoption but it is a step in the right direction. What would you do if you were told at some point in the future that you had cancer and you could choose between chemo-therapy (with all it's nasty side effects) and mini-robots? The point is, every day people let doctors do things that were once considered crazy in an effort to save their life!

[Jeff @ Jun 27th 2007 11:17AM]

ok, am i the only one that can see this going horribly wrong when it accidentally gets on it's way into the heart? Spiky things don't seem like they'd be very good being pumped around in the heart chamber. not to mention that they might need to make it white or something so it doesn't look like a housefly.

[aaron @ Jun 27th 2007 10:29AM]

Is the picture intended to be the 10x scale model? That appears way too large to be an ear canal robot, let alone a bloodstream projectile.

[MarkG @ Jun 27th 2007 10:33AM]

I hope it never has to reverse!

[brad @ Jun 27th 2007 10:37AM]

at first I thought that was a standard ruler..not a metric one.... thinking WTF that thing is huge for my veins


then i realised it was in centimeters...now it makes sence

[Michael @ Jun 27th 2007 10:53AM]

There is nothing standard about an imperial ruler.

[carlo @ Jun 27th 2007 11:15AM]

but it's still pretty massive

[Sebastian @ Jun 27th 2007 11:09AM]

Whats stopping them from making nanobots that will be able to control the human body? Futhermore, whats stopping from anyone putting one of these things in my body without my permission? The ethics...technology shouldnt be made this small. Many things can arise from nanobot technology...it will be the end of human kind.

[unjust @ Jun 27th 2007 12:43PM]

the same thing that stops guns from shooting you, or companies from putting industrial chemicals in your food. morality and trust in society.

[dual chikara @ Jul 7th 2007 4:18PM]

You know, you may have been watching a few too many sci-fi movies. THat and if any of those things do happen the company that did it will be sued 'til they can't see straight, and shut down

[slug @ Jun 27th 2007 11:09AM]

makes me shiver ... a robot crawling through my body!!?! What if they forget to take it out, like when some doctors forgot to remove a pair of sissors from a patient after using them in an opperation. yuk!! :s
Haha every time you walk past a magnet you will feel your heart tickle!! haha

[tcc3 @ Jun 27th 2007 11:09AM]

The get it out with that steam punk vacuum-cleaner device Trinity used in the Matrix.

[Rainier @ Jun 27th 2007 11:16AM]

Awesome!!! Now, I can eat all the fatty foods I want, and then have this little bugger clean up my arteries, good as the new!

[Jeff @ Jun 27th 2007 11:31AM]

lmfao, a roto-rooter for your arteries.

[unjust @ Jun 27th 2007 12:28PM]

heads up!
hijacker advert with malware install prompt on the referenced site.

[Mark @ Jun 27th 2007 1:49PM]

As a person who has been diagnosed with cancer, I welcome such news. If these 'bugs' can be programmed to target only cancer cells and tumors, and inject chemo drugs directly into them, instead of damaging 'normal' cells, then I would take it.

[Mark @ Jun 27th 2007 12:49PM]

Now they just need to make a machine that can shrink Patrick Swayze down to a small enough size to fit in the thing. (Inner Space was an awesome movie)

[NOT Patrick Swayze @ Jun 27th 2007 1:04PM]

@ Mark -

Inner Space was an awesome movie and I'm glad Patrick Swayze wasn't in it.

[NHAnimator @ Jun 27th 2007 2:39PM]

I'm gonna pass on injecting Patrick Swayze, Martin Short, or Dennis Quaid into my bloodstream.

However, Meg Ryan...

[Jon @ Jun 27th 2007 2:52PM]

Still massive to be practical.

[Paul @ Jun 27th 2007 3:02PM]

This thing is like any other piece of technology, it is initially developed and then refined to make it ready for mass adoption.

[Ralph @ Jun 27th 2007 3:23PM]

Neat. Any pics showing it's built-in drill/saw for rapid escape if needed?

[drtekger @ Jun 27th 2007 9:27PM]

I for once welcome our robotic overlords that infest our bloodstrams and eat our brains from the inside.

Imperial or metric system: This thing is freaking HUGE man, 5mm long! I bet you could see a nasty bump on your skin when this thing moves around. Creepy!

[trancer @ Jun 30th 2007 3:11PM]

blood clot anyone?

[liquidkore @ Jun 28th 2007 4:31PM]

I bet I know what "vessel" it exits out of...

[Josh L. @ Jun 30th 2007 12:53PM]

It says 1 millimeter in diameter, so I am assuming as someone said, this is a larger version, so we can see what it looks like.