BOSTON: In a medical twist straight out of a sci-fi flick, MIT engineers have created a robot so thin and nimble it can weave through your brain’s blood vessels. It’s not just a party trick—this tiny, magnet-controlled thread is designed to treat serious conditions like strokes and aneurysms.
Here’s the cool part: the robot is built with a nickel-titanium alloy core, which gives it the flexibility of cooked spaghetti, but with a high-tech twist. On top of that is a slippery hydrogel coating, which helps it glide effortlessly through the brain’s ultra-tight spaces.
In the lab, scientists used life-sized silicone models of human brain vessels and guided the robot thread using external magnets—no need to cut open the skull. They successfully navigated the complex pathways, showing the robot can reach hard-to-access areas safely.
This tech could one day make minimally invasive brain surgery the norm, cutting down on risks for both patients and surgeons. It’s still early days, but brain-thread robots might just be the future of neuro-surgery.
