To develop the first generation of implantable microrobots that can navigate the human body in a controlled and noninvasive manner. This is the main goal of I-BOT (Implantable microroBOT), the new project of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa funded by the European Research Council (Erc) with Erc Starting Grants.

The project will officially start on Jan. 1, 2025, will last for five years with an investment of €1.5 million, and will be coordinated by Veronica Iacovacci, a researcher at the Institute of BioRobotics at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna.

After graduating with a master's degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Pisa, Iacovacci received her PhD in BioRobotics in 2017 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Biorobotics at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Eth Zurich and Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2020, he was awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship for the Mambo project (development of magnetic microrobots for localized therapies inside the human body).

I-BOT aims to develop the first generation of implantable microrobots that can navigate in a controlled and noninvasive manner in the human body to reach the area to be treated. Through the combined action of ultrasound and magnetic fields, the microrobots will be able to change their geometry and size to adapt to the area of the human body where they are to intervene and to exert forces on surrounding tissues and therapeutic actions. These important innovations will enable the microrobots to remain in contact with tissues in a stable manner and perform their task over time. “In the course of the project,” Iacovacci explains, ”we will analyze some case studies ranging from the treatment of ulcers in the gastro-intestinal tract, to the realization of vascular grafts to systems for monitoring tumor lesions.