The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has announced that its engineers have created what could be the world's smallest multifunctional surgical robot. 

Made of hollow skeleton, optical fibre array, functionalized skin, and coated with a gel-like outer layer, the 0.95-millimetre robot is 60% smaller than existing endoscopic robots.

It integrates what researchers from the HKUST School of Engineering say is the "impossible trinity" of specifications: imaging, high-precision motion, and multiple operations. The researchers demonstrated practical applications of their robot in a study, which findings were published in the journal, Nature Communications.

FINDINGS

In their study, the HKUST researchers observed that their model greatly widened the imaging region by approximately 25 times the inherent view; it extended the obstacle detection distance up to 9.4 mm, which is 10 times beyond the theoretical limit. In terms of function, it was found capable of doing sampling, drug delivery, and laser ablation. The miniature robot also demonstrated smooth navigation in tight spaces of in vitro bronchial models and ex-vivo porcine lungs.  

WHY IT MATTERS

According to Shen Yajing, associate professor and head of the research team, small-scale robots have potential applications in interventional diagnosis and treatment. Existing models, however, showed limitations in terms of compactness, precise navigation, and functions. Their research, Prof Shen said, sought to address these gaps. 

"This work is expected to provide a significant solution for the development of a clinical surgical robot aimed at achieving early diagnosis and therapeutic goals in more hard-to-reach bodily regions, thereby enriching the broad potential for biomedical applications."

The research team now plans to conduct in vivo trials to demonstrate the robot's performance in actual clinical scenarios.  

THE LARGER TREND

Last year saw increasing investment and adoption in robotics technology in Asia-Pacific healthcare – particularly for surgery and rehabilitation. For example, Bangkok Hospital, one of Thailand's largest private healthcare providers, set aside $5 million to open a robotic surgery centre as part of its five-year roadmap. The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine started using bespoke robot-assisted technology for spine surgery. Wearable hand and foot rehabilitation robots from China and South Korea recently expanded to the United States and Australia. 

In related news, another Chinese research team recently introduced a miniature sensor for continuous glucose monitor. Their coin-sized biosensor provides high antinoise ability and tunable sensitivity and resolution.