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Robot Propulsion System Developed For Navigating Through Human Spine |
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Written by William Cox
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Monday, 27 November 2006 |
If you thought having a robot crawl through your intestines or your abdominal cavity was creepy, how about a tiny robot that swims through your spinal column? Dr. Moshe Shoham has developed a propulsion system for such a robot. Such a robot is different from those that travel through your digestive tract, in that it needs its own propulsion system.
"The first location we're targeting is the spinal canal—which means the device will travel through the cerebral spinal fluid (CSS) which is clear and similar to water. It doesn't flow too fast, but it needs propulsion,"
Now that the propulsion system has been developed, Shoham can begin work on the payload of the robot, which when finished, will be a tiny endoscope with two swimming actuators, power system, and camera system. It is estimated that it will take several more years to finish the system and further miniaturize it, but Shoham hopes to one day have robots perminently installed in your body for monitoring.
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