Acoustic communication for medical nanorobots

It is found power available from ambient oxygen and glucose in the bloodstream can readily support communication rates of about 10 4 bits/s between micron-sized robots.

Abstract

Communication among microscopic robots (nanorobots) can coordinate their\nactivities for biomedical tasks. The feasibility of in vivo ultrasonic\ncommunication is evaluated for micron-size robots broadcasting into various\ntypes of tissues. Frequencies between 10MHz and 300MHz give the best tradeoff\nbetween efficient acoustic generation and attenuation for communication over\ndistances of about 100 microns. Based on these results, we find power available\nfrom ambient oxygen and glucose in the bloodstream can readily support\ncommunication rates of about 10,000 bits/second between micron-sized robots. We\ndiscuss techniques, such as directional acoustic beams, that can increase this\nrate. The acoustic pressure fields enabling this communication are unlikely to\ndamage nearby tissue, and short bursts at considerably higher power could be of\ntherapeutic use.\n