Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials

Untethered miniature robots (MRs) offer a minimally invasive way to address adverse vascular blockages, such as cerebrovascular thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism. This review explores three key questions: what are the design principles of MRs from both engineering and cl...

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Main Authors: Qinglong Wang, Fangling Zhao, Ben Wang, Kai Fung Chan, Bonaventure Yiu Ming Ip, Thomas Wai Hong Leung, Xin Song, Li Zhang, Jue Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:The Innovation
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675825000773
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author Qinglong Wang
Fangling Zhao
Ben Wang
Kai Fung Chan
Bonaventure Yiu Ming Ip
Thomas Wai Hong Leung
Xin Song
Li Zhang
Jue Xie
author_facet Qinglong Wang
Fangling Zhao
Ben Wang
Kai Fung Chan
Bonaventure Yiu Ming Ip
Thomas Wai Hong Leung
Xin Song
Li Zhang
Jue Xie
author_sort Qinglong Wang
collection DOAJ
description Untethered miniature robots (MRs) offer a minimally invasive way to address adverse vascular blockages, such as cerebrovascular thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism. This review explores three key questions: what are the design principles of MRs from both engineering and clinical perspectives? How can visible intervention of MRs in three-dimensional (3D) branched vessels be achieved? What is the clinical procedure for treating thrombus using designed MRs? Recent progress in MRs for thrombus removal is summarized, and, more importantly, the pros and cons of MRs are discussed. We also evaluate the challenges that may hinder their clinical deployment and propose future research directions, bridging the gap between the bench and the bedside. Public summary: • Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death, with thrombectomy and thrombolysis being common treatments. • Limited catheter accessibility and the serious side effects of thrombolytic drugs are the main challenges. • Untethered miniature robots (MRs) enable precise therapy with minimized side effects. • This work explores the design principles, current challenges, and prospects of MRs for thrombus treatment.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2666-6758
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
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series The Innovation
spelling doaj-art-767ca0b351664bc0b07ebb4dd59b8b602025-08-20T03:26:35ZengElsevierThe Innovation2666-67582025-06-016610087410.1016/j.xinn.2025.100874Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trialsQinglong Wang0Fangling Zhao1Ben Wang2Kai Fung Chan3Bonaventure Yiu Ming Ip4Thomas Wai Hong Leung5Xin Song6Li Zhang7Jue Xie8Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518000, ChinaDepartment of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China; Corresponding authorLi Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaDepartment of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaDepartment of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Corresponding authorDepartment of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518000, China; Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; T Stone Robotics Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Department of Surgery, CUHK, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Corresponding authorDepartment of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China; Corresponding authorUntethered miniature robots (MRs) offer a minimally invasive way to address adverse vascular blockages, such as cerebrovascular thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism. This review explores three key questions: what are the design principles of MRs from both engineering and clinical perspectives? How can visible intervention of MRs in three-dimensional (3D) branched vessels be achieved? What is the clinical procedure for treating thrombus using designed MRs? Recent progress in MRs for thrombus removal is summarized, and, more importantly, the pros and cons of MRs are discussed. We also evaluate the challenges that may hinder their clinical deployment and propose future research directions, bridging the gap between the bench and the bedside. Public summary: • Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death, with thrombectomy and thrombolysis being common treatments. • Limited catheter accessibility and the serious side effects of thrombolytic drugs are the main challenges. • Untethered miniature robots (MRs) enable precise therapy with minimized side effects. • This work explores the design principles, current challenges, and prospects of MRs for thrombus treatment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675825000773miniature robotsthrombus treatmentclinical trialminimally invasive intervention
spellingShingle Qinglong Wang
Fangling Zhao
Ben Wang
Kai Fung Chan
Bonaventure Yiu Ming Ip
Thomas Wai Hong Leung
Xin Song
Li Zhang
Jue Xie
Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
The Innovation
miniature robots
thrombus treatment
clinical trial
minimally invasive intervention
title Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
title_full Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
title_fullStr Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
title_full_unstemmed Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
title_short Untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment: From bench to clinical trials
title_sort untethered miniature robots for minimally invasive thrombus treatment from bench to clinical trials
topic miniature robots
thrombus treatment
clinical trial
minimally invasive intervention
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675825000773
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