Nanorobotics for Neurosurgery

Long being considered only a fantasy within the realm of science fiction, nanorobotics systems are currently manufactured, investigated, and utilized for real-life applications. Advances in chemistry, materials, physics, and nanotechnology made this extraordinary progress possible, leading to the development of different prototypes of both nanorobots (i.e., nanoscale machines with multiple biomedical functions) and nanomanipulators (i.e., macroscale devices capable of handling nano-objects for applications in biomedicine). The field of medical, surgical, and neurosurgical robotics has significantly expanded thanks to these remarkable achievements in nanorobotics, which offered novel tools to investigate underlying disease mechanisms and to advance diagnostic and treatment strategies in the era of personalized precision medicine. In this book chapter, we discuss the recent advances in nanorobotics for neurosurgery and neuroscience applications, summarizing the currently investigated nanorobotics systems for tissue repair in spinal cord injury and drug delivery in cancer therapy, and presenting the future perspectives within this endless field.