To survive, the retina needs oxygen -- and permanent blindness can result If it doesn’t receive enough. So the sooner a doctor knows if a patient’s retina is lacking in oxygen, the better. And soon, tiny injectable robots may help doctors get the information they need, thanks to Professor Bradley Nelson and researchers at ETH Zurich.
As Gizmagreported, this team used microrobots it had already created -- that measure a millimeter in length and one-third of a millimeter in width -- to deliver medication or remove scar tissue within the eye, and turned them into oxygen sensors.
When it's time to remove the tiny robots, a needle is re-inserted, and the robots are magnetically attracted to it.
Photo from Shutterstock
