Magnetic swArms for liver chemoeMBOlization

ended

Magnetically actuated untethered microrobots have been proposed in the state of the art since more than a decade towards the dream of accessing remote hard to reach areas of the human body. Nevertheless, some challenges still have to be faced before any microrobot-based therapeutic paradigm can reach the clinical practice. MAMBO (Magnetic swArms for liver chemoeMBOlization) aims at facing some of these challenges by targeting a specific clinical application, namely liver chemoembolization. The proposal stems from the idea to improve cancer chemotherapy and existing chemoembolization procedures by using magnetic forces to collect chemotherapeutics in the target region (through swarm control methods) and to controllably and stably embolize tumor blood vessels. Drug loaded soft magnetic microrobots featured by responsiveness to ultrasound will be developed to this aim. The responsivity to US will enable microrobot swelling and controlled vessel occlusion and at the same time their ultrasound-based imaging to guarantee their tracking in vivo. Magnetic swarm control techniques will be employed to enable microrobots locomotion in biologically-relevant fluids. MAMBO will last 36 months and is articulated in a 24 months outgoing phase carried out at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK – partner organization) and in a 12 months return phase in Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA – beneficiary organization). In the framework of the project I will try to deepen my skills in magnetic swarm control by benefiting from the major expertise of Prof. Li Zhang’s group. At the same time, I will share with them my background in medical robotics and drug delivery systems towards the development and testing of a novel therapeutic paradigm for cancer treatment. During the return phase at SSSA I will focus on the US imaging of the developed microrobots thanks to the Interaction with Prof. Menciassi’s group and to their expertise in US-based technologies.