An advance in micromotor technology akin to the invention of
cars that fuel themselves from the pavement or air, rather than gasoline or
batteries, is opening the door to broad new medical and industrial uses for
these tiny devices, scientists said here today. Their update on development of
the motors — so small that thousands would fit inside this “o” — was part of
the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society,
the world’s largest scientific society, being held here this week.
Joseph Wang, D.Sc., who leads research on the motors, said
that efforts to build minute, self-powered robot devices have evoked memories
of the 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage. It featured a miniaturized
submarine, which doctors injected into a patient. It then navigated through
blood vessels to remove a blood clot in the brain.