CiliaVine micro-robot developed to dissolve blood clots and detect cancer

Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese PLA General Hospital have developed a soft micro-robot named CiliaVine. This magnetic-driven device uses flexible, cilia-like structures to manipulate blood flow.

In laboratory models, the robot demonstrated the ability to accelerate the breakdown of blood clots when combined with tPA medication, reducing dissolution time from an average of 70 minutes to 40 minutes. Additionally, the device can improve drug delivery by increasing deposition on vessel walls by 146 percent compared to natural diffusion. CiliaVine has also shown success in detecting rare cancer cells within blood samples from liver cancer patients and animal models.