Abstract

A new era on medicine are expected to happen in the coming years. Due to the

advances in the field of nanotechnology, nanodevice manufacturing has been

growing gradually. From such achievements in nanotechnology, and recent results

in biotechnology and genetics, the first operating biological nanorobots are

expected to appear in the coming 5 years, and more complex diamondoid based

nanorobots will become available in about 10 years. In terms of time it means a

very near better future with significant improvements in medicine. In this work

we present a practical approach taken on developing nanorobots for medicine in

the sense of using computational nanomechatronics techniques as ancillary tools

for investigating manufacturing design, nanosystems integration, sensing and

actuation for medicine applications. Thus the work describes pathways that could

enable design testability, but also help scientists and profit corporations in

providing the helpful information needed to test and design integrated devises

and solutions towards manufacturing biomedical nanorobots.

2. Introduction

The use of robots in surgery has provided additional tools for surgeons enabling

minimally invasive intervention or even long distance tele-operated surgeries [1].

Indeed we may trust on human creativeness and technical capabilities that can

ever be improved in terms of technical achievements [2], [3], [6]. In recent years

the medicine has enabled significant wellness for the life quality and longevity of

the world population [11]. And for the coming years, we may be prepared to

experiment even more benefits, as results from advances that are being pursued

step by step in new fields of science, such as nanobiotechnlogy [9], [13]. With

the expected miniaturization of devices provided by several works on nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), nanomanufacturing has actually become

a reality [12], [14].

Hence, with the NEMS recent advances on building nanodevices, and the

development of interdisciplinary works, altogether may be translated in few years

through the development of integrated nanomachines, also known as nanorobots.

With the use of techniques that are advancing rapidly, such as nano-transducers

[22], [5], and biomolecular computing [2], [13], nanorobots are expected to be

able to operate in a well defined set of behaviors performing pre-programmed

tasks [7], [4]. Thus in the coming few years, nanorobots being tele-operated to

perform surgery, or even nanorobots continually supervising the human body in

order to assist organs that may require some kind of repair, is one of the most

expected revolutionary tools for biomedical engineering problems.

The development of nanorobots is an emerging field with many aspects under

investigation. Simulation is an essential tool for exploring alternatives in the

organization, configuration, motion planning, and control of nanomachines

exploring the human body. The work we have been done concentrates its main

focus on developing nanorobot control and design applied to nanomedicine.

Nanorobot applications could be focused mainly on two major areas, as follows:

nanorobots for surgical interventions, as well as their utilization for patients that

need constant monitoring. The nanorobots require specific controls, sensors and

actuators, basically in accordance with each kind of biomedical problem.

Advanced simulations can include various levels of detail, giving a trade-off

between physical accuracy and the ability to control large numbers of nanorobots

over relevant time scales with reasonable computational effort. Another

advantage is that simulation can be done in advance of direct experimentation. It

is most efficient to develop the control technology in tandem with the fabrication

technologies, so that when we are able to build these devices, we will already

have a good background in how to control them.

We propose computational mechatronics approaches as suitable way to enable nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), nanomanufacturing has actually become

a reality [12], [14].

Hence, with the NEMS recent advances on building nanodevices, and the

development of interdisciplinary works, altogether may be translated in few years

through the development of integrated nanomachines, also known as nanorobots.

With the use of techniques that are advancing rapidly, such as nano-transducers

[22], [5], and biomolecular computing [2], [13], nanorobots are expected to be

able to operate in a well defined set of behaviors performing pre-programmed

tasks [7], [4]. Thus in the coming few years, nanorobots being tele-operated to

perform surgery, or even nanorobots continually supervising the human body in

order to assist organs that may require some kind of repair, is one of the most

expected revolutionary tools for biomedical engineering problems.

The development of nanorobots is an emerging field with many aspects under

investigation. Simulation is an essential tool for exploring alternatives in the

organization, configuration, motion planning, and control of nanomachines

exploring the human body. The work we have been done concentrates its main

focus on developing nanorobot control and design applied to nanomedicine.

Nanorobot applications could be focused mainly on two major areas, as follows:

nanorobots for surgical interventions, as well as their utilization for patients that

need constant monitoring. The nanorobots require specific controls, sensors and

actuators, basically in accordance with each kind of biomedical problem.

Advanced simulations can include various levels of detail, giving a trade-off

between physical accuracy and the ability to control large numbers of nanorobots

over relevant time scales with reasonable computational effort. Another

advantage is that simulation can be done in advance of direct experimentation. It

is most efficient to develop the control technology in tandem with the fabrication

technologies, so that when we are able to build these devices, we will already

have a good background in how to control them.

We propose computational mechatronics approaches as suitable way to enable the fast development of nanorobots operating in a fluid environment relevant for

medical applications. Unlike the case of larger robots, the dominant forces in this

environment arise from viscosity of low Reynolds number fluid flow and Brownian

motion and such parameters are been implemented throughout a set of different

investigations. We have been developing practical and innovative paradigms

based on the Nanorobot Control Design (NCD) simulator that allows fast design

testability comparing various control algorithms for nanorobots and their

application for different tasks. Also such information generated by the NCD can be

useful as parameters for building nanodevices, such as transducers and actuators.