ULTRASOUND MICROVEHICLES: POSSIBILITY OF NOVEL NEUROLOGICAL TREATMENT
Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown for the first time that microvehicles can be steered through blood vessels in the brains of mice using ultrasound. These lipid-shelled microbubbles, the building blocks of microrobots, self-assemble and proliferate when exposed to ultrasonic radiation. We study their potential in vivo in the capillaries of a living mouse brain and in vitro in microfluidic-based vasculatures. In the brain vasculature, these microrobots self-assemble and move upstream at up to 1.5 µm/s while opposing blood flows of about 10 mm/s. This study marks a significant advancement in the use of microrobots in the intricate brain vasculature for medical treatments.These microvehicles are harmless gas bubbles that disappear after their purpose is fulfilled.
The researchers tested this method of guiding microbubbles through restricted blood vessels in mouse brains. After being injected into the rats' circulatory systems, the bubbles travel through the circulation on their own without assistance from outside sources. Nevertheless, the vesicles were able to be guided through the brain veins against the direction of blood flow by the researchers using ultrasound to hold them in place. In order to send the bubbles into the bloodstream's tiniest branches, the researchers were even able to manipulate them to shift course or guide them through complex blood channels.
The researchers additionally affixed four tiny transducers to the exterior of each mouse's skull in order to regulate the motion of the microvehicles. These gadgets produce ultrasonic vibrations that travel in waves throughout the brain. Waves from two or more transducers can either cancel each other out or magnify each other at certain locations in the brain. The researchers use a complex technique to modify the output of each individual transducer in order to direct the bubbles. They can see the direction in which the bubbles are moving by using real-time imagery.
The microbubbles in this investigation excluded medicine. Initially, the goal was to demonstrate that the microvehicles could be maneuvered via blood veins and that the technique could be applied to the brain. There are encouraging medicinal uses for it there, including as the treatment of cancer, stroke, and mental health issues. The next task for the researchers is to transfer medication molecules by adhering them to the bubble casing's outside.
These microvehicles may carry drugs in the future and be able to transport them to particular locations within the brain. This could lessen the adverse effects of the medications and boost their effectiveness. The entire process to be ready for human application in the hopes that it would eventually serve as the foundation for the creation of novel therapies.
REFERENCE:
2.https://scitechdaily.com/brainwave-riders-how-ultrasound-microbubbles-could-change-medicine/
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