On March 15, 2023, Jang Gun-hee, a professor from School of Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University (HYU) and his team announced that they had succeeded in performing remote vascular intervention therapy on eight pigs using micro-robots.
Vascular intervention therapy is a procedure in which a medical staff checks a patientʼs blood vessels with X-rays and pushes instruments into them to treat blocked vessels. Since the medical staff cannot see inside the patient, the procedure is complicated and often takes a long time. In addition, medical staffs are continually exposed to X-ray, which can cause cancer. Professor Jang’s research team has been working on a method using microrobots capable of moving inside blood vessels and using magnetic navigation systems to control them. This technology allows medical staff to perform precise procedures quickly, accurately and remotely without being exposed to X-rays.
Professor Jang’s personal background is just as dramatic as his research. In 2004, his mother collapsed from vascular disease. At that time, he discovered that it was hereditary and that he himself could be in danger. Meanwhile, he was offered the opportunity of pursuing micro-robot research by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Although the feasibility of the technology was unclear at the time, he decided to push ahead. “I thought it would be nice to treat myself with the technology I developed.”
Professor Jang cited the difference between simulated blood vessels and living blood vessels as the biggest difficulty in the research process. “At the moment we entered the pig's veins, we found out that it was a completely different world.” Despite the challenges, he and his team successfully conducted eight experiments on pigs.
Micro-robots roaming in human blood vessels were once only seen in speculative works of science fiction, but now they are closer to reality than ever. Professor Jang aims to make the system available for use as soon as possible. “If this technology is commercialized, I would probably be the first patient.”