Nanotechnology and its applications in surgery

Abstract

It has been suggested that medicinewill change more in the next 20 yearsthan it has in the past 2000. Thismay be true, as a result of advancesin biotechnology and the recentemergence of nanotechnology.The concept of nanotechnologywas first introduced by the quantumtheorist and Nobel laureate RichardFeynman.Nanotechnologydealswiththemanipulationandcontrolofnano-materials with at least one dimensionbelow 100 nm. Nanosized particleshave been incorporated successfullyinto modern surgical practice, offer-ing novel minimally invasive imagingtechniques, improved drug deliverysystems and providing a basis for thedevelopment of engineered organs.This article highlights some of thelatest advances.Beyond these current applicationslies the promise of incorporatingnanosized robotics into medical andsurgical practice. Nanorobotics is themanufacture of ‘smart’ nanodevicesthatcansubsequentlybe exploitedfordiagnostic and therapeutic purposes