AN INTRODUCTION TO NANOMEDICINE

This chapter discusses nanotechnology as it applies to medicine, including different types of nanorobots and some of the challenges inherent to building robots on the nanoscale. It focuses on a number of different nanostructures one can use to detect the presence of cancer or other diseases in the body. The chapter describes the problems with current cancer treatments, as well as methods such as nanoparticle heating method, magnetic manipulation, that can be used to treat disease at the cellular level within the body. It addresses possible effects of nanorobots on the body and factors that determine biocompatibility on the nanoscale. The chapter also describes recent progress in wireless power and how this idea can be directly applied to nanomedicine. It explores some of the specifics of nanomedical research for cancer and also discusses the organizations, centers, universities, and scientists actually doing the research as of the fall of 2014.