Evaluation of a MRI based propulsion/control system aiming at targeted micro/nano-capsule therapeutics

MRI based nano- and microrobotics show good potential for new targeted therapies tackling e.g. cancer. In this paper, a system developed for the propulsion and navigation of small ferromagnetic objects only using clinical MRI systems is evaluated in experiments. The experiments include propulsion of an untethered ferromagnetic object against a pulsatile flow in a pipe system, navigation of an untethered object filled with ferromagnetic nanoparticles around obstacles in a free environment, and the choosing of a branch in a closed flow-less channel system when propelling an untethered ferromagnetic object. The system is found to deal with the tasks efficiently.