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A team of researchers at the University of Delaware is developing microscopic robots that could dramatically change how doctors treat blood clots, potentially breaking them up in hours instead of relying on medications over several weeks.
The tiny robots, nicknamed “clot bots,” are being developed at the university’s Newark campus, where engineers have created an assortment of microscopic devices designed to physically break apart blood clots and deliver medication directly to them.
The research comes as Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ medical situation has brought increased attention to blood clots. Researchers say their technology could eventually help athletes like Hurts and other patients who develop potentially dangerous clots.
Sambeeta Das, Ph.D., a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Delaware, said blood clots affect a wide range of people, including pregnant women.
“It’s not just him, but it’s also a huge problem in pregnancy too. Serena Williams actually had that as well,” Das said.
How do the microscopic robots work?
The robots are so small they can’t be seen with the naked eye, but researchers can observe them on a screen as they move.
The University of Delaware team has developed several versions of the robots, each with different shapes and capabilities.
Researchers say the devices can be injected near a blood clot, where they physically tear apart the clot while also delivering medication directly to the affected area.
The number of robots used would depend on the size of the clot.
“Depends on how big the clot is, but we would put in, I want to say, like a thousand or ten thousand at a time,” Das said.
The robots can operate autonomously or be controlled remotely. Researchers have even demonstrated how a PlayStation 5 controller can be used to precisely guide the tiny devices toward a clot.
Despite the advanced technology involved, producing the robots could be surprisingly inexpensive.
“I think for like for a hundred bucks you could make twenty or thirty thousand of these yeah,” Das said.
The robots are also made from materials designed to safely disintegrate after completing their work.
Could the robots help patients like Jalen Hurts?
Researchers believe the technology could eventually offer a faster alternative to traditional blood clot treatments.
In a situation like Hurts’, the technology could theoretically allow doctors to locate a clot and inject the microscopic robots to begin breaking it apart almost immediately.
The researchers envision a process that could take just a couple of hours, compared with treatments that can involve medications administered over several weeks.
However, the technology is still being developed and has not yet reached clinical trials.
The University of Delaware team hopes to have a portable version of the technology ready for clinical trials within the next few years, with the ultimate goal of making it available to doctors as soon as possible.
For Das and her colleagues, the goal is to give medical professionals a way to detect and treat dangerous conditions more quickly, potentially saving lives.
“I think that’s why we are doing it. Before things get bad we want to be able to solve we want to help doctors detect things faster, treat things faster better safer,” Das said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.