NANOROBOTS IN HEART SURGERY

ABSTRACT : In today’s fast world, man is in a situation where he has to compete

against machines. Due to this stress of a mechanical life, the human body is subjected to
various levels of trauma. The organ most affected is the heart. Heart attacks are becoming
so common now a days. The percentage of people affected is increasing by the day. This
heart attack is mainly caused due to improper diet with excessive cholesterols and lack of
proper exercise to burn calories, which leads to blocks in the arteries. The present method
of treatment- the bypass surgery or the angioplasty, though effective, may be considered
outdated in today’s technological age.
Nanorobots are tiny nanoscale devices that may be used to
perform a variety of tasks very accurately and in lesser time. Nanotechnology is the
cutting edge of future technology and is vastly directed towards medical applications.
This paper throws light on one possible application of these nanorobots in the human
body, where they may be employed to remove heart blocks more effectively and
accurately, in lesser time causing no pain what so ever. This nanotechnology will be the
driver for the future technologies of today’s “shrinking world”.
1.INTRODUCTION
Heart blocks are becoming one of the major diseases among the people of today’s
world. With a variety of reasons for occurrence, ranging from lack of exercise to smoking
and drinking, this has emerged as the most wide spread disease ever. These heart blocks
are caused due to a variety of reasons. Current diagnostic measures include a lot of
painful processes like the Angiogram. The treatment for the block is also extremely
dangerous, time consuming and painful. Angioplasty, though having a high success rate,
is still old fashioned. Today’s technology promises a lot more than the insertion of a thin
tube into your blood vessels. Nanorobots can be effectively used in this process of
curing heart blocks. This paper discusses the causes of heart blocks, the current
process of diagnosis and therapy. Later this paper throws light on the novel idea of curing
these heart blocks using nanorobots- a technology just a few years away from
implementation. This paper views the problem on a purely theoretical and imaginative
approach.

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2.CHOLESTEROLS
Our body fluids, mainly blood have a biochemical compound known as
cholesterol. These cholesterols are chemical compounds of glycerol and unsaturated acid.
The cholesterols found in the human body can be classified into two types. They are,
• Low density lipids (LDL)
• High density lipids(HDL)
These cholesterols flow through the blood and are essential
for the normal functioning of the body to a certain extent. Cholesterol is a fat-like
substance (lipid). It is both produced in the liver and consumed by eating animal products
such as meat, eggs or dairy products. The body needs cholesterol, and manufactures all
the cholesterol needed by various organ systems. In fact, the body naturally produces up
to four times more cholesterol than what normally would be taken in through diet. The
body uses cholesterol to:
• Assist in the manufacture of hormones or vitamin D
• Break down carbohydrates and proteins
• Help form a protective coating around nerves
• Build cell walls and to produce bile (the word cholesterol is Greek for
“bile solids”)
Cholesterol is carried through the bloodstream by lipoproteins.
Lipoproteins are proteins that wrap around both cholesterol and other fatty materials and
transport them through the bloodstream.
The HDL’s are basically harmless as they highly stable and are
disposed off by the body effectively. These HDL’s are basically stable and hence do not
stick to the walls of the blood vessels. Actually , these HDL’s help to carry the bad
cholesterols from the blood stream to the liver from where it gets disposed. These contain
more of protein , and less fat. On the other hand, the LDL’s contain more fat and less
protein.
The LDL’s are a bit difficult to get rid of. These LDL’s or ‘bad
cholesterols’ as they are commonly known, get accumulated on the walls of the blood
vessels. This happens because these LDL’s are highly unstable. So they get disintegrated

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and rather than being disposed off by the liver, they get accumulated along the walls of
the arteries.

It is natural that the blood vessels continually contract and expand

in order to accommodate the variations in the blood pressure, arising due to various
reasons. But when the LDL’s flow through the blood, they get accumulated on the walls
of the blood vessels. These LDL’s on accumulation make the blood vessels loose their
elastic property. As a result the blood vessels will no longer be able to keep up with the

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pressure variations of the blood. Hence the pressure fluctuations in the blood are carried
over to the heart and hence the heart is subjected to constantly varying stress which
weakens it.
ANGIOGRAM
The LDL’s on further deposition form a lump and close in on the diameter of
the blood vessel. So as the concentration increases the diameter of the blood vessel
decreases. Hence blood transportation to or from the heart is hindered.
The intensity of this problem is measured by a method known as
Angiogram.. Here a small tube of diameter of about a few micrometer with a catheter at
the end is used. This is introduced into the veins at the thigh and upto the pericardium.
This catheter injects a radioactive fluid into the blood stream, the flow of which is
monitored by a continuous X-ray. When this fluid flows through the block, there will be
a contraction in the thickness of the fluid line monitored through the X-ray. This
contraction indicates the location of the block. Once the block has been located, it is
removed by a method known as Angioplasty.

ANGIOPLASTY
In this method the end of the catheter has a deflated balloon. This balloon is
positioned under the block and it is inflated, so that the block bursts, and is carried away
through the blood stream. In order to prevent the recursion of the block, the blocked area
is covered with a one-way inflatable metal cylinder ,that is attached on the outside of the
balloon. As the balloon is inflated, the cylinder attains shape, and gets locked on attaining
maximum expansibility. This method is known as ‘balloon angioplasty’.
NANOROBOTS:
Nanorobots are nano devices that may be of about 3 to 5 micrometres in size.
The individual parts used to make these nanorobots may be of 1 to 100 nm in size. These
nanorobots are mainly made up of carbon, and may be given a coating of diamond. The
diamond coat is given because diamond is the most inert and tough material ever known.
These nanorobots can be used for a variety of purposes. In this paper, to treat heart
blocks we use three kinds of nanorobots.

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Nanorobots with nanosensors to locate the block. These robots will need
four kinds of nanosensors.
1. pressure sensors
2. acoustic sensors
3. chemo sensors
4. smart sensors
• nanorobots equipped with nanolasers to severe the block after confirmation.
• Nanorobots that have the ability to fill the burnt gaps with fresh flawless cells
synthesized by the robots themselves in order to prevent the recurrence of the
block. This process is known as ‘molecular synthesis’.
• 3.HEART ATTACKS
Blood vessels play an important role in supply a blood to all parts of the body. Due to the
fatty deposition on the walls of blood vessels blood will not move freely to all parts of the
body these leads to heart attacks and damage the vital organs.
In general the most common methods of surgery used for heart attacks is
 By-Pass surgery
 Angio Plaster

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NANOROBOTS IN HEART SURGERY :-

Both of the above methods are risky and number of side effects. As a result
patient became very weak. But a surgery-using nanorobot is very simple one. Doctors do
their treatment even without touching the body.

(Structure of NanoRobots)
The above figure shows the structure of the nanorobots. It is constructed with
various nanomechanical devices and nanosensors like.
• Molecular sorting rotors
• Propeller
• Fins
• Sensors

MOLECULAR SORTING ROTORS :-

It is made up of carbon nanotubes. Simply a sheet of carbon atom forms a
carbon nanotube in that a roll having only one sheet of carbon atoms thick is known as
single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). Thus the electrical properties of SWNT’s can
be used to generate mechanical motion from electrical energy. One of the main
advantages of these SWNT’s is operating at the molecular level. Nanotube substitutes
with nanogears with axle used for changing the direction of movement.

PROPELLOR :-

The word propeller in ship is used to drive forward the device against
water. Like that in nanorobots it is used to drive forward against the blood stream. Fins
are fitted along with the propellers used to propel the device.

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Sensors are fitted externally and internally with the nanorobots to receive the
signal for correct guidance. There are several techniques to do the heart surgery with
the nanorobots.we have to know how to inject nanorobots into our body, how to move it
to the destination place, how to control and remove the device after surgery.

INJECTION OF NANOROBOTS :-
We have to find a way to introduce nanorobots into the body for surgery
and allowing it to do the operation without ancillary damage. So we made the nanorobots
smaller than the blood vessels as it can travel. Femoral artery in the leg is considered to
be a largest artery in our body. So we inject the nanorobot through this artery.

NAVIGATION :-
Every living thing needs area to move. Like fish to be moved in water
nanorobots use blood flow for its movement. It must be able to guide the device make use
of the blood flow. The devices used for navigation is propeller, fins, jet

pump, electromagnetic pump. In order to move the nanorobots in blood flow following
things are very important
 Speed of blood
 Get through the heart without stuck
 React with changes in blood flow rate
 Able to change the direction according to the blood stream
To satisfy the above consideration we have to make the nanorobots with electric motors
turning propellers.

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(Navigation of nanorobots into blood vessels)

POSITIONING :-
To know the location of nanorobots where it goes we use ultrasonic technique.
Nanorobots must be able to produce ultrasonic waves by passing a signal to piezoelectric
membrane, which is in built with the device. Several signals processing techniques are used to
track this ultrasonic signal and finding the location at any time. Instead of ultrasonic wave we
use infrared ray for signal processing.

DETECTION :-
To locate a blood clot (or) deposit of arterial plaque we use sensors of different
types. Already preplanned route is available to reach operation site. With the help of preplanned
route we reach the fatty deposited area.

(NanoRobots towards a destination)

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To control the nanorobots as per our wish fit the TV camera in the nanorobots and
transmitting its picture outside the body to a remote control unit. Solid-state television camera
sensors are used to receive the signals from the remote station and do the operations according to
signals send by remote control unit. There are preprogrammed microchips available to give
appropriate signals so that nanorobots is initiated externally through a computer.

DESTRUCTION :-
The fatty deposits (or) clots are removed using special blades fitted with
nanorobots. Continuous (or) pulse signal is used to activate the blades. These blades physically
separate the deposits from blood vessels. Care should be taken in removing the fatty
deposits.Small deposits of these fatty materials without removing lead to big problem in future.

(View of nanorobot removing the fatty deposit)

Giving of power is very important for every operation to most efficient one in
magnetic induction. It means that our body is full of magnetic field. Rotation of nanorobots cuts
these magnetic field produce power based on faraday’s law. To take nanorobots from the body
we use two methods one is retrace our path upstream another is making small surgery to remove.

4.THE ACTUAL PROCESS

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The three types of nanorobots needed for the process, are suspended in a liquid matrix
and injected into blood vessels of the patient. Immediately the acoustic sensors in the sensor
robots get activated and begin navigating the army of robots through the blood stream to the
pericardium. Simultaneously, the smart sensors present in the sensor robots, get activated and
form a closed ad-hoc network connecting all the robots. This is very essential in order to guide
all the nanorobots to the desired location.

The sensor robots perform the most sophisticated type of diagnosis known, i.e.
diagnosis from the inside of the human body. These sensors , on reaching the periphery of the
heart, scan the pericardial vessels, for blocks and locate the spot exactly.

The pressure sensors mounted on the sensor robots, scan the blood vessels for
variations in the blood pressure. This will act as the first confirmation. This scanning for pressure
variations is necessary, as in the region of the block, there will be a constriction of the blood
vessel and hence a rise in the blood pressure compared to that existing in the nearby areas. These
sensors will generate a report of the potential areas of heart block, based on the pressure mapping
of the blood vessels.
The second confirmation, comes from the chemo sensors. These sensors scan the region they
traverse, for the chemical composition of the cholesterols. That is, these sensors differentiate the
cholesterol compounds accumulated on the walls of the blood vessels, from the actual

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composition of the tissues of the blood vessels. In this way, the block can be identified
accurately. All these information are transmitted through the ad- hoc network formed by all the
smart sensors and can be constantly viewed by the doctors monitoring the entire process.

After successful location of the block, the second type of nanorobots , those equipped
with nanolasers, come into picture. These lasers , like the robots themselves, can be powered by
the body itself, by means of the kinetic energy of the flowing blood, pressure of the blood flow ,
etc. thus, these lasers can be powered by the most ingenious ways imaginable. These laser robots
on activation based on the information flow through the network, effectively burn down the
block. Since the operation is held on a nanoscale, the outcome is highly accurate. Moreover ,
there is literally zero damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.

The final leg of the operation is the responsibility of he molecular synthesizers. These
nanorobots, take the required biochemical substances from the blood or the surrounding tissues,
and synthesise the cells of the blood vessels in order to seal the area of the block. These cells are
placed in the affected region and as a result , we have a whole new region of the blood vessel
that is completely free from the threat of another block.
5.ADVANTAGES
• The process is very fast.
• Since the scale of operation is very small, the results are very accurate.
• The process is less painful unlike angioplasty, where the patient takes months to recover
from the physical trauma of the operation.
• The process is technologically very advanced and reliable.
• The patient is not subjected to harmful rays unlike angioplasty where he is placed below
a continuous X-ray during diagnosis.
• The chance of any aftereffects or recurrences are completely eliminated.

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6.DISADVANTAGES
• Nanorobots, the technology as such, may be very costly.
• The technology may take several years to be implemented practically.
• The technology may lead to further technological problems like the introduction of
artificial reconstruction and artificial intelligence which will result in the robots going out
of control of humans.

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7.CONCLUSION

Nanotechnology is truly a vast field of research and study, bound only by the limits of human
imagination. Even though this may seem to most of them like a fairy tale, the days of
implementation of these devices are not far off. The machines needed to fabricate these
nanorobots are yet to be visualized. Hence these nanorobots are still out of production although
having passed the drawing board stage long back. The human mind will one day make this
extremely interesting vision, a reality. This field however at present, in its infancy stages, just
like aviation was, during the early 1900’s. Let us hope that this technology also will one day,
become as successful and dominating like aviation today.

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8.REFERENCES

Books:-
Nanotechnology BY Mark Ratner and Daniel Ratner
Nanomedicine BY Robert Freitas
Fundamentals of Biochemistry BY J.L.Jain
Websites: -
www.nano-tech.com
www.nanobot.info
www.nanorobot.com
www.nature.com
www.adsx.com
www.ieee.org

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