Scientists have developed tiny robotic devices that can effectively help treat cancer. These tiny devices, filled with cancer-killing chemicals , enter the human body and are guided to a malignant tumor.
In 1966, the film “Fantastic Voyage” was released, in which a nuclear submarine with a crew of five shrinks and enters the body of a scientist in order to repair his brain damage. This scenario was considered science fiction on the verge of exaggeration.
But now Bionaut Labs is unveiling its tiny, remote-controlled devices, which are designed to enter the human body and inject a dose of medicine where it's needed most.
Smaller than a millimeter and with few moving parts, the tiny devices are designed to navigate tissues and go where surgeons cannot, especially when dealing with difficult forms of cancer.
Michael Shpigelmacher, founder and CEO of Bionaut Labs, said it was an extremely practical idea. He added that together with Aviad Maizels, they created the company in 2016 to address a fundamental issue in modern medicine: getting every patient a drug in the right place and at the right dose.
Drug delivery relies on diffusion through the bloodstream, which requires high doses to ensure that enough of the active ingredients reach the target. But at the same time, this means that the rest of the body also receives these large amounts of chemicals.
Shpigelmacher pointed out: “We just wanted to find a way to get to the affected area without filling a body with drugs.”
Bionaut aims to initially treat brainas a first step in proving technology . Glioma is a type of cancer that largely affects children and young adults. Brain tumors are particularly difficult to treat with current technology. Radiation and surgery can cause excessive damage to sensitive tissue, while the blood-brain barrier prevents most drugs from reaching the tumor. Therefore, the ability to inject drugs into the tumor itself would be a significant advance.
But what is the procedure followed?
A doctor inserts Bionaut devices into the spine through a catheter. Each device is large enough to be visible on an X-ray. Manufacturing technology exists to make the devices even smaller, but Bionaut chose to keep them close to the millimeter scale so they are easier to track and maneuver in the body.
A set of magnets placed around the head and neck create an external magnetic field that the doctor can control to push the devices up the spine and into the affected area of the brain. Once they are in the right position, another magnetic signal activates a small plunger in the charge bay of each device, which ejects the medication. The doctor can then guide the devices back to where they entered the spine and remove them.
Research into the science behind Bionaut's technology began decades ago but has accelerated in recent years. Now the field of precision manufacturing has reached the point where tiny medical devices can be mass-produced through a network of suppliers, in a manner similar to other consumer electronics.
Bionaut is also working with external researchers trying to develop a pharmacological treatment for Huntington's disease, a chronic neurodegenerative brain disease. Bionaut's system would allow surgeons to avoid opening the skull to reach the affected area.
The next stage for Bionaut is the clinical trial process. While medical devices typically go through a simple approval process, the combination of Bionaut's new technique with drug delivery means it must go through the full FDA (Food and Drug Administration) process.
Bionaut is targeting brain gliomas first to increase those chances. “It’s a rare disease, there’s no current cure, and these devices inject proven and approved chemotherapeutic payloads that kill cancer cells,” said Kevin Zhang, a partner at Upfront Ventures, which led the investment in Bionaut.
The goal is to expand the technology to other central nervous system conditions, as well as other areas that are difficult to target with drugs, such as the inside of the eye. Of course, the transition to the rest of the body is further on the horizon.
