Researchers at MIT developed an origami meat robot that can help treat stomach issues from the inside!
Researchers at MIT revealed their miniature robot they designed to patch stomach wounds, deliver medicine, and remove objects that may have accidentally been swallowed by patients. The robot is delivered into a patients body by swallowing it encased in a chunk of meat, which bursts open and unleashes the robot.
The origami meat robot was tested in pig esophagus and gut tissue, where the robot would travel to the stomach in an ice capsule that melts on the way down. When the robot reaches it’s destination, it unfolds and could be directed around the stomach using external magnets.
Inside the center of the robot is a tiny magnet that allows it to be directed using a magnetic field outside of the patient’s body. Early tests of the robot in stomachs required the robot to remove button batteries, since button batteries are a common and sometimes lethal object swallowed by children.
The researchers at MIT recently presented their origami meat robot at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Hopefully their new robot can find it’s way into health care systems worldwide!
Source: Ars Technica
