Slides available here!

Speaker:

Sylvain Martel, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada

Title:

Switching between magnetotactic and aerotactic sensory-based motion for MC-1 bacterial microrobots

Abstract:

Self-propelled, sensory-based and directionally-controlled agents in the form of Magnetotactic Bacteria (MTB) of the MC-1 strain have been investigated by our group as effective therapeutic nanorobots in cancer therapy. Following computer-based magnetotactic guidance to reach the tumor area, the microaerophilic response of drug-loaded MC-1 cells can be exploited in the tumoral volume to target regions of active tumor cells. The implementation of such a targeting strategy calls for a method to switch from a computer-assisted magnetotactic displacement control to an autonomous aerotactic displacement control of the bacterial microrobots. The presentation will show not only how the magnitude of the magnetic field can be used for this purpose but how the findings could help determine the specifications of a future compatible interventional platform.

Bio:

Prof. Sylvain Martel, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering as well as IEEE Fellow, is Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Micro- Nanorobotics and Automation, and Director of the NanoRobotics Laboratory at Polytechnique Montreal, Campus of the University of Montreal, Canada. He received many awards mostly in interdisciplinary research and he is a recipient of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Medical Nanorobotics. He developed several biomedical technologies including platforms for remote surgeries and cardiac mapping systems when at McGill University, and new types of brain implants for decoding neuronal activities in the motor cortex when at MIT. Among other achievements, Dr. Martel's research group is also credited for the first demonstration of the controlled navigation of an untethered object in the blood vessel of a living animal. Presently, Prof. Martel is leading an interdisciplinary team involved in the development of navigable therapeutic agents and interventional platforms for cancer therapy. This research is based on a new paradigm in drug delivery pioneered by Prof. Martel and being known as direct targeting where therapeutics are navigated in the vascular network towards solid tumors using the most direct physiological routes. Such approach leading to a significant increase of the therapeutic index has been featured in several media around the world such as The Globe and Mail, MIT Technology Review, New Scientist, The Economist, BBC, Newsweek, etc.



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