robotiC gUided canceR nanomedicinE (CURE)

With extremely low 5-year-survival rates around 9%, biliary and pancreatic cancers (BPC) are considered as the most fatal types of cancer. Despite advances in medical techniques and cancer therapy, effective treatment for BPC still lacks. Recently, nanomedicine (NM) has opened a new venue for cancer treatment. The ability of nano-formulated drugs to enhance drug accumulation and induce anti-cancer immunity, shows great potential for treatment. For BPC, this new NM approach brings new hope for a cure. Currently, the low target delivery rates of NM (in the order of 0.7%) form an important hurdle for success. Traditional surgical instruments and approaches struggle to deliver nanoparticles (NPs) sufficiently close to the tumor. CURE develops robotic cancer NM technology for BPC. Experts from NM and robotics collaborate with clinicians to design NPs optimized for BPC and dedicated robotic catheter systems to deliver the NPs in high concentrations at the target site. Apart from potentially impacting BPC treatment, a breakthrough in NM efficiency is targeted.

Keywords:robotics, nanomedicine, cancer treatment, pancreatic cancer, bile duct cancer, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), ERCP

Disciplines:Mechatronics and robotics not elsewhere classified, Cancer therapy, Image-guided interventions, Medical nanotechnology, Biomaterials engineering not elsewhere classified