Modeling nanorobot control for blood vessel repair: A non-Newtonian blood model

Using nanorobots for medical diagnostics and treatment has been an intriguing idea since the concept of nanotechnology was introduced. This study investigated the control mechanism for locomotion of nanorobots in blood vessel repair application. Each nanorobot operating as artificial platelets has only essential characteristics for self-assembling into a mass at the injured blood vessel wall to reduce blood loss. This follows the idea of the early stage nanorobots that could be realized in the near future based on examples seen in biological systems and current development in nanotechnology. Canonical Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) that are inspired by social insects was employed for controlling the nanorobots as they are similar in the way that individuals have simple characteristics but can robustly work in dynamic environment. In simulation, this study used Herschel-Bulkley fluid model to simulate non-Newtonian blood flow in a rigid tube. The performance of canonical PSO-based control mechanism was demonstrated and investigated to provide guidelines for the realization of nanorobots in the future.