Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Microrobots in gynaecological care and reproductive medicine

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering volume 1, pages 759–761 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Medical microrobots are emerging as cutting-edge technologies in gynaecological healthcare and reproductive medicine, offering novel, non-invasive therapeutic and diagnostic solutions. Here, we discuss their development in the field and the challenges and opportunities in translating the technology from the laboratory to clinical practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Micro-robotics platform for gynaecological healthcare and reproductive medicine applications.

References

  1. Magdanz, V., Sanchez, S. & Schmidt, O. G. Development of a sperm-flagella driven micro-bio-robot. Adv. Mater. 25, 6581–6588 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Medina-Sánchez, M., Schwarz, L., Meyer, A. K., Hebenstreit, F. & Schmidt, O. G. Cellular cargo delivery: toward assisted fertilization by sperm-carrying micromotors. Nano Lett. 16, 555–561 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Striggow, F. et al. Magnetotactic sperm cells for assisted reproduction. Small 20, 2310288 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Schwarz, L. et al. A rotating spiral micromotor for noninvasive zygote transfer. Adv. Sci. 7, 2000843 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Rivkin, B. et al. Electronically integrated microcatheters based on self-assembling polymer films. Sci. Adv. 7, eabl5408 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Xu, H. et al. Sperm-hybrid micromotor for targeted drug delivery. ACS Nano 12, 327–337 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rajabasadi, F. et al. Multifunctional 4D‐printed sperm‐hybrid microcarriers for assisted reproduction. Adv. Mater. 34, 2204257 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim, J. et al. Advanced materials for micro/nanorobotics. Chem. Soc. Rev. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CS00777D (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Aziz, A., Medina-Sánchez, M., Claussen, J. & Schmidt, O. G. Real-time optoacoustic tracking of single moving micro-objects in deep phantom and ex vivo tissues. Nano Lett. 19, 6612–6620 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Aziz, A., Holthof, J., Meyer, S., Schmidt, O. G. & Medina‐Sánchez, M. Dual ultrasound and photoacoustic tracking of magnetically driven micromotors: from in vitro to in vivo. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 10, 2101077 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Aziz, A. et al. Nanomaterial-decorated micromotors for enhanced photoacoustic imaging. J. Micro Bio Robot. 19, 37–45 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Jabehdar Maralani, P. et al. Canadian Association of Radiologists recommendations for the safe use of MRI during pregnancy. Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 73, 56–67 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Nauber, R., Hoppe, J., Robles, D. C. & Medina-Sánchez, M. Photoacoustics-guided real-time closed-loop control of magnetic microrobots through deep learning. In Proc. 7th International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (eds Haliyo, S. et al.) (IEEE, 2024).

  14. Iacovacci, V., Diller, E., Ahmed, D. & Menciassi, A. Medical microrobots. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Sci. 26, 561–591 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ERC Starting Grant Nr. 853609), and the HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-101126600-SmartBRAIN3. Also, this work received funding from the Leibniz Society in Germany.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NanoBiosystems Group, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), Dresden, Germany

    Zhi Chen & Mariana Medina Sánchez

  2. NanoBiosystems Group, CIC nanoGUNE, San Sebastián, Spain

    Mariana Medina Sánchez

  3. IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain

    Mariana Medina Sánchez

  4. Chair of Micro- and Nano Biosystems, Center for Molecular Bioengineering (B CUBE), Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany

    Mariana Medina Sánchez

Authors
  1. Zhi Chen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mariana Medina Sánchez
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mariana Medina Sánchez.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, Z., Sánchez, M.M. Microrobots in gynaecological care and reproductive medicine. Nat Rev Electr Eng 1, 759–761 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-024-00102-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-024-00102-0

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research