Nanobots: Microscopic robots to perform medical miracles

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• March 5, 2022

Insight summary

Nanotechnology is propelling the creation of nanobots, tiny robots capable of revolutionizing healthcare by navigating the human bloodstream for various medical applications. However, the full integration of this technology faces hurdles like material selection for nanobot construction and funding for extensive research. As we look to the future, the rise of nanobots could bring significant shifts in healthcare costs, job market requirements, and data usage.

Nanobots context

Modern researchers are making advancements in the field of nanotechnology that not only make microscopic robots small enough to swim through your bloodstream but may also revolutionize healthcare in the process. Nanotechnology specializes in creating robots or machines that use molecular and nanoscale components near the nanometer's scale (e.g., 10−9 meters) or range in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometers. Nanobots are tiny microscopic functioning robots that can withstand harsh environments and have multiple potential applications in the healthcare sector. 

A survey by Market and Research suggests that the nanobots market is likely to hit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent between 2021 and 2029, starting from USD $121.6 billion in 2020. The report also states that the industry will be dominated by nanobots used in nanomedical applications, expected to be responsible for 35 percent of the market during the forecast period. However, several challenges need to be overcome before nanotechnology can be fully incorporated into the medical world.  

One of the biggest challenges is what materials to use to make nanobots. Some materials, such as cobalt or other rare earth metals, have desirable properties, but they are toxic to the human body. As nanobots are tiny, the physics that controls their motion is non-intuitive. Therefore, it is essential to find microorganisms that can navigate these restrictions, for example, by changing their shape during their life cycle. 

Another challenge is funding. There are not enough funds to perform comprehensive research on nanotechnology.  Some specialists predict that it will take until the 2030s to overcome these challenges and incorporate nanobots into some types of surgery in the medical industry.

Disruptive impact

By the 2030s, it is predicted that nanobots will be administered into test patients' bloodstream using common hypodermic syringes. These minuscule robots, similar in size to viruses, could potentially neutralize blood clots and eliminate viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Furthermore, by the mid-21st century, they may even be able to transfer individuals' thoughts to a wireless cloud, functioning at a molecular level within the human body to protect our biological systems and boost overall health.

According to New Atlas, researchers anticipate that nanobots could soon be employed to deliver medication to patients with unparalleled precision. This application would enable microdosing at the exact location within a patient's body, potentially reducing harmful side effects. In addition, scientists believe that nanobots could help to address dietary issues and reduce plaque in veins in the foreseeable future.

In the long run, nanobots could play a pivotal role in enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of severe illnesses, including various forms of cancer. They could accelerate the healing process for a wide array of physical injuries and possibly replace vaccines in the treatment of epidemic diseases such as yellow fever, plague, and measles. Moreover, they may even connect human brains to the cloud, enabling direct access to specific information through thoughts when needed.

Implications of nanobots

Wider implications of nanobots may include:

• Improved diagnosis and treatment of diseases, leading to enhanced patient outcomes.
• Faster recovery times from physical injuries due to the accelerated healing process.
• A potential alternative to vaccines for treating epidemic diseases, improving disease control.
• Direct access to information from the cloud through thoughts, revolutionizing how we interact with data.
• Changes in medical research funding priorities as focus shifts towards nanotechnology.
• Ethical and privacy concerns related to the use of nanobots, potentially leading to new regulations.
• Potential changes in the job market, as new skills might be needed to work with nanobots.
• Increased data usage and storage needs due to the information processing capabilities of nanobots.
• Potential changes in the insurance industry, given the novel risks and benefits associated with nanobots.

Questions to consider

• If nanobot injections become an option, what kind of illnesses or injuries could they possibly address better than present-day healthcare options?
• What will be the impact of nanobots on the cost of various health treatments?