Robot Maggots Feed On Brain Tumors

This article was originally published online on Nov 14, 2013 by The Desert Sun's Digital Natives

Maggots have primarily been depicted as coarse, mundane insects. Recently, however, neurosurgeon J. Marc Simard, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, created a prototype of a larvae-esque robot that has the capability to eat brain tumors from the inside.

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This newly developed "maggot-bot" has the ability to expel tumors with an electrocautery--or heated cauterizing--tool, which then enables it to remove the dead tissue.

"Here you had a natural system that recognized bad from good and good from bad," Simard stated, "In other words, the maggots removed all the bad stuff and left all the good stuff alone…If you had something equivalent to that to remove a brain tumor that would be an absolute home run."

The challenge with this new technology is the navigation. As of now, the "maggot-bot" is handled through a system of pulleys and springs, bearing in mind that having an electromagnetic motor can easily damage the brain. Therefore, it will be a while before these prototypes reach their final destination in the hospitals.

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