Robotics in Healthcare – Medical Information Bulletin
Robotics in healthcare is changing into a norm, and a brand new drug-delivery system referred to as RoboCap is the most recent addition to the sphere.
What’s robotics?
Robotics in healthcare is a department of engineering that makes use of applied sciences and nanotechnologies like equipment and synthetic intelligence to help and enhance human capabilities. A few of these advancing areas of robotics enable for seeing and sensing throughout the physique at a microscopic stage. Different points of the expertise contain precision medication – an development in healthcare that helps to bypass pure challenges the physique could produce towards remedies.
Why is robotics necessary?
A typical therapy problem in healthcare is drug supply and bioavailability. The bioavailability of a drug measures how effectively the physique can take up the medication.1 Drug supply and bioavailability are a problem as sure medicines have to be dispersed all through the physique in a method that may solely be accomplished by mouth (orally). Additionally, a drugs could have to be given by a healthcare practitioner (HCP) by a needle.
When a drug is ingested orally, it should undergo “first-pass metabolism”. Sadly, first-pass metabolism can scale back the flexibility of the medication to get to the place it must go in the correct amount and on the proper time.
Due to this fact, robotics in healthcare may help guarantee profitable remedies whereas decreasing the dangers of taking medicines by mouth. Moreover, a expertise that reduces the necessity for a HCP to offer the medication may help enhance a affected person’s potential to take their medicines and release HCPs for different pressing wants.
What’s RoboCap?
The abdomen lining has sticky mucus that may lure drug particles and forestall them from coming into the bloodstream.2 A part of RoboCap’s inventiveness is its potential to clear this mucus and deposit medicines the place they should take motion.2
RoboCap is a brand new robotics expertise capsule that helps ship on-target oral medicines. RoboCap additionally protects the drug from being damaged down an excessive amount of or too shortly. The capsule features a motor and a cargo that holds medicines that might sometimes have to be taken by intravenous (IV) infusion or injection.2,3
Earlier than RoboCap’s introduction, different makes an attempt at creating expertise for oral drug supply have been unsuccessful.1 Not solely can this new robotic capsule safely ship, but it surely additionally improves bioavailability.1
How does it work?
As soon as RoboCap is within the gut, a motor permits it to spin, and its studded floor contacts the intestinal tissue.1 The capsule rotates to clear away mucus and steadily deposits the remedy.1 After spinning round for about 35 minutes, the capsule will make its solution to naturally exit the physique.2
The place’s the proof?
Drugs together with vancomycin (antibiotic) and insulin got to pigs utilizing RoboCap.1 Vancomycin was taken up by tissues twenty occasions increased within the pigs given the RoboCap versus those that didn’t.1 Moreover, vancomycin and insulin ranges within the physique have been discovered to extend 20-40 occasions increased than commonplace oral medicines.3
Future objectives
Additional analysis and testing utilizing RoboCap for the supply of different medicines are wanted to enhance remedy dosing, adherence, and security. RoboCap’s success may additionally imply cost-savings and enchancment of assets in healthcare. Robotics in healthcare supplies hope for sufferers and for practitioners. RoboCap can present a better, extra snug, and extra handy method for sufferers to take their remedy(s).
References
- Whelan S. RoboCap – The robotic capsule designed to enhance drug supply within the Intestine. Revealed Sept 28, 2022. Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/information/robocap-the-robotic-capsule-designed-to-improve-drug-delivery-in-the-gut-366073
- Rosen M. This Robotic Capsule Clears Mucus from the Intestine to Ship Meds. Revealed Sept 28, 2022. Accessed November 16, 2022. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/robotic-pill-mucus-gut-deliver-medicine
- Srinivasan SS, Alshareef A, Hwang AV, Kang Z, Kuosmanen J, Ishida Okay, Jenkins J, Liu S, Madani WAM, Lennerz J, Hayward A. RoboCap: Robotic mucus-clearing capsule for enhanced drug supply within the gastrointestinal tract. Science Robotics. 2022;7(70). doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.abp9066
