Collaborative Research: Integrated Swimming Microrobots for Intravascular Neuromodulation

Electrical stimulation of nervous systems via blood vessels is an emerging technique to relieve many chronic conditions, including paralysis, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, etc., without requiring major surgery. The technology is still in its infancy and uses stimulation electrodes attached to an external apparatus, which limits deeper access to the brain and spinal cord. Instead, microrobots, unattached to an external apparatus, swimming in blood vessels via remote guidance and wireless power may ease access to harder-to-reach areas in the human body and perform stimulation or deliver drugs. This award aims to study the feasibility of using sound waves to move microrobots in blood vessels. Especially, the award will model mechanisms of harnessing the sound waves to move the microrobots, deliver drugs, and harvest energy. If feasible, these microrobots would deliver drugs and allow wireless electrical stimulation of neurons deeper inside the body. Microrobots with these capabilities would eventually benefit millions of people who have upper motor neuron lesions or brain disorders such as Parkinson, depression, epilepsy, etc., without the need to undergo expensive surgery, and thus minimizing the risk of infections from protruding wires. The proposed research plan also integrates outreach activities at a local museum and a planetarium. The project will design and validate the microrobots with swimming, remote drug delivery, and neuromodulation capabilities to achieve the goal. The first aim of this award is to investigate currently unknown acoustic mechanisms that use encapsulated air bubbles to enable propulsion of the microrobot in a fluid, remote drug release, and harvest energy. The second aim will create data-driven models that capture the acoustic mechanisms of mobility and stimulation current. Further data-driven controllers will be derived to enable microrobots to reach desired targets. Finally, in third aim, the microrobot’s ability to swim to a target and intravascular neuromodulation in a larger animal model will be validated. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.