Biomedical and Micro-Robots: An Overview of Recent Developments

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an overview of recent challenges in the development of micro-robots for future biomedical applications. This paper first considers a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art in medical micro-robots. Consequently, it investigates the critical aspects and emerging ideas associated with designing of such medical micro-robots in order to navigate in viscous environments and inspire future research for healthcare applications. Potential biomedical micro-robots are used for a wide variety of applications into different organs of the patient's body, such as clearing heart occlusion, treatment of Nephrolithotomy, minimally invasive surgery, micromanipulative, released into the bloodstream and targeted drug delivery. Challenges and emerging concepts include functionality, powering, robot localization, communication and safety have been proposed, thereby leading to enable an extensive range of medical operations locomotion features, obtain and process information, being able to operate within specific constraints. This review provides details insight of medical micro-robot developments and the existing solutions for challenges and emerging concepts paving the way for designing such a medical micro-robot for operation inside, fast recovery and increased quality of life of patients.