The Voyage of Micro/nanorobots inside the Human Body

Abstract Controllable locomotion enables micron/nanorobots to voyage and perform microsurgeries inside the human body. With the assistance of micro/nanorobots, medical tasks can be fulfilled more efficiently than traditional treatment approaches. The micro/nanorobots have performed various tasks that would not be possible by conventional methods. Moreover, wireless propelling methods bring about a lot of benefits, so that the biomedical field gains a new development opportunity. Because of the continuous efforts made by researchers in the past decade, tremendous achievements have been obtained for micro/nanorobots working in vivo. Inside the human body, the micro/nanorobots hold great potential for various applications including cancer therapy, sensing, gene silencing and thrombolysis. In this paper, we provide an overview on recent wireless micro&nanorobots applied in cells, blood vessels, tissue and eyes. Actuation methods, including acoustic, magnetic, light, chemical and bioenergy, for micro&nanorobots insidethe human body are summarized and specific applications of them are also discussed. Furthermore, challenges such as speed, biocompatibility, controllability still exist. However, we can also foresee promising developments in future. Multifunction, simplified devices and intelligence will be the forthcoming development directions for in body micro&nanorobots.