Robot Slime removes foreign objects from the human body – 04/11/2022 – Science

A young boy swallows a battery from one of his toys and his parents are upset because they don’t know how to get it out. The story is common, and many families have experienced it or at least heard of a similar case.

The solution to this problem may have now gained a new ally. This is because of Chinese researchers Published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials An article about a new model of a slime-like mini robot, that slime-like toy. The invention, according to the researchers, could be useful in removing objects that have entered someone’s body in some way – such as in the case of something that children have swallowed.

Similar robot models already exist, and the authors explore some of these types in the paper. One is made of elastomer, which is mainly silicone. This type of material is interesting because it has great adaptability to different environments, but its shape cannot be too flexible, which makes it unsuitable for such small spaces.

Another type is the robot made of liquid materials. This model basically has the opposite characteristics to the one based on elastomers: it can be quite flexible, can enter spaces with a diameter of 1.5 mm, but fails to adapt to different environments.

From this difference between the two models, the study initiative emerged: developing a robot that could combine high resistance and the ability to cross in small spaces.

In order to combine the possibilities, the main method was to mix two chemicals – borax, which is a mixture of salt with boric acid, and magnetic particles – which were later added with a type of alcohol. This combination constitutes the essence of the invention.

Tests were also conducted to verify the robot’s effectiveness when it enters different environments. Some, for example, include small, differently shaped tubes to see if a small sticky substance will have trouble crossing over. The equipment still needs to prove its ability to work in different spaces, such as paper, water, plastic and hydrogel, indicating its ability to be used in different spaces.

By having magnetic particles in its material, the main use of the mini robot is to help remove fine particles from the human body. In some of the released photos, it looks as if he is ingesting these substances when he walks over them.

In this way, the main contribution of magnetic slime is, who knows, in the future, helping the work of surgeons who are faced with cases in which patients have foreign bodies. But in addition to hospitals, a small robot could also have another useful function: calming parents when they realize their children have swallowed what they shouldn’t.