Medical 'microbot' to swim human arteries

In 1966, the movie "Fantastic Voyage" recounted the tale of doctors who are miniaturised along with a submarine and injected into the body of a Soviet defector, sailing up his bloodstream to destroy a brain clot that imperils the VIP's life.

The improbable storyline -- and the equally improbable casting of sex icon Raquel Welch as a scientist in a wetsuit -- invited the audience to suspend their disbelief and enjoy a good sci-fi romp.

More than 40 years later, some of the futuristic potential of "Fantastic Voyage" has taken a step closer to realisation, thanks to a remarkable achievement in miniaturisation unveiled on Tuesday.

There's no submarine or Raquel Welch, but instead a motorised robot that its inventors believe is small enough to be injected into the human bloodstream.

One day, the remote-controlled bot could carry sensor equipment for observation work, relaying images back to surgeons.

Or it could become a tiny surgeon, cutting away blood clots, reaming out clogged arteries or repairing damaged tissue, its inventors hope.

Yahoo

A whole new horizon in medicine has just opened up for us, let us pray that this technology does not fall into evil hands...

Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 2/18/2009 by Badge01]