It was a time when robotics was meant to be a gadget with various arms, wheels, and controllers. Now, the latest invention of science has changed the definition of robotics. R very tiny robot that could be implanted under the body skin. Scientists named that thing ‘the Biobot’ which was specially designed to deliver doses of drugs under the skin.

Biobot was built by a 3D printer. This micromachine has no wires and batteries, it could be activated only by using a piece of external magnet. Scientists tested this in mice on the first phase of their experiment, now they are planning to implant this under the human skin. It could be a used to deliver doses of chemo to treat Tumors.

The material used for making the Biobot is Hydrogel. It is a solid jelly type material which makes the gadget soft but strength enough to perform inside body. That bot is driven through a Geneva drive mechanism, quite similar to the gear mechanism of clocks. Geneva mechanism could be driven by a piece of magnet and this Hydrogel biobot has six chambers that can be filled with drugs. This report was first published in the journal ScienceRobotics.

Now patients don’t have to go through any complicated chemotherapies, they just have to implant the Bot under the skin of their tumor area with the help of doctors. Doctor could simply rotate the gear with the magnet to deliver the drug only when needed. According to The Verge report, it took only 30 minutes to print in a three-dimensional shape and it is only 0.6 inches long in size.

Researchers took two group of mice with bone cancer. The first group of mice was injected with the biobot and the second group received the conventional chemotherapy. After the 10 days of observation, researchers found that the first group of mice had a less growth of tumors and damage cells compared to the other group. Those biobots were filled with the chemo drug doxorubicin.

Although it is just the beginning, but it looks promising. In future, it could be a correct alternative of the conventional chemo treatment. It could be adapted to meet the needs of individual patients and treat tumors, as well as other conditions.