Researchers have developed a tiny magnetic tentacle robot that can travel into the lungs to detect and treat lung cancer.
It could transform cancer therapy in a first-of-its-kind, minimally invasive way.
A team from the University of Leeds tested the robot on the lungs of a cadaver to discover it can travel 37% deeper than standard equipment.
The ultra-soft tentacle is just two millimetres in diameter and can reach the smallest bronchial tubes. With less damage to lung tissue, the approach offers a minimally invasive alternative to current methods.
Controlled by magnets, researchers say the robotic innovation paves the way for more accurate and tailored surgery.
Engineers, scientists and clinicians at the University of Leed’s STORM Lab have developed the approach.
The results of their investigations, funded by the European Research Council, are published in Nature Engineering Communications.
Their publication coincided with World Lung Cancer Day (1 August), which aims to raise global awareness.
Professor Pietro Valdastri, director of the STORM Lab and research supervisor, has hailed the robot as a game-changer.
‘This new approach has the advantage of being specific to the anatomy, softer than the anatomy and fully shape-controllable via magnetics. These three main features can potentially revolutionise navigation inside the body.’
Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate worldwide, with 1.6 million cases arising yearly.
In early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for around 84% of cases, surgical intervention is the standard of care.
However, this is typically highly invasive and leads to significant tissue removal, often impacting lung function.
Lung cancer screening programmes have led to better survival rates and highlighted the urgent need to find non-invasive ways to diagnose and treat patients early.
As well as improving navigation within the lungs during biopsies, the magnetic tentacle robot could pave the way for far less invasive treatment, allowing surgeons to target only malicious cells while allowing healthy tissue and organs to continue normal function.
The report’s co-author, Dr Giovanni Pittiglio, who researched while conducting his PhD in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, added: ‘Our goal was, and is, to bring curative aid with minimal pain for the patient. Remote magnetic actuation enabled us to do this using ultra-soft tentacles which can reach deeper while shaping the anatomy and reducing trauma.’
The team will now collect all the data that will allow them to start human trials.
In June, the UK government announced a new targeted lung cancer screening programme in England to catch symptoms early when treatment outcomes are more successful.
Photo caption - Close-up of a magnetic tentacle robot next to a phantom bronchiole
