From miniature to nano robots for diagnostic and therapeutic applications

This paper presents the evolution of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as a process of convergence of technologies coming from different fields and involving different disciplines. In particular, it illustrates how modern surgery evolved thanks to fundamental biology knowledge; thus, with the introduction of imaging techniques intra-operatively and with the introduction of robotics, surgical procedures became much more predictable, precise and effective. Finally, the recent developments of optics (with CMOS and CCD technologies, and with the introduction of fiber optic technologies) allowed to "see" inside the human body, thus reducing the invasiveness of surgical procedures and making diagnostic procedures adequate for an effective early discovery of pathologies. Nowadays, we are assisting to a concrete merging between microrobotics technologies and bioengineering, with the potential to bring therapeutic tools where requested and when requested, with high precision and with very limited side effects. Furthermore, nanotechnology offers the possibility to fully implement this merging, thanks to the development of dedicated theranostic nanotools suitably fitting the considered convergence scenario.