ViRob - an Autonomous Crawling Micro-Robot

A nice old microrobotics project from Israel is ViRob. If you have any updates on the system, let us know!

 "ViRob  is  an  autonomous  revolutionary  crawling  micro-robot  controlled  by  electromagnetic  fields.  The  ViRob  was  developed by leading experts at the Technion Institute.  The ViRob platform Miniaturization is made possible since actuation and control are not onboard. Actuation power  is given due to an external magnetic field subjected onto the robot, while crawling velocities are determined using  different external magnetic field frequencies.

Microbot Medical was founded with the vision of pioneering Micro Invasive Surgery, transforming one of the biggest trends in healthcare - Minimally Invasive Surgery (estimated to be close to $20B by 2015); the company will provide transformational micro invasive technologies with the accuracy of robots and automated instruments to assist physicians in targeting the disease site with exquisite precision. Microbot will solve one of the largest unmet needs in the medical field, where morbidity as a result of surgery is more frequently due to trauma involved in gaining access to the area to perform the intended procedure rather than from the procedure itself. Through its unique platforms, Microbot will reach multiple surgical spaces, capitalizing on the fact that minimally invasive techniques have been applied to most of the surgical specialties. Microbot’s ViRob platform is an Autonomous Advancing Micro Robot (AAMR), less then 1mm in diameter, which has the ability to advance (forward/backward) within cavities/lumens (such as the typical human body's veins and arteries). The TipCat platform is a self-propelled, flexible, see & treats endoscope/catheter. It is comprised of a series of interconnected balloons that provide forward and backward motion while allowing for a working channel to be available during the procedure. In developing its platforms, the company is focusing on multi-disciplinary platform of products."

Read more here and here.


Source: MedGadget, LinkedIn,