Have you ever tried to squeeze a wet sponge between your hands? Blood clots work pretty much the same way. Only if you squeeze them badly, they break into a thousand pieces and cause worse damage.
Stanford researchers have invented a device that solves this problem in an ingenious way: instead of breaking up clots, it compresses them as if they were deflating balloons. The result? They succeed to remove even the most stubborn clots in 90% of cases on the first attempt. A percentage that makes your head spin, especially if you think that with current methods They succeeded only in 11% of the cases.
How the new clot device works
The device is called Milli-spinner and it's basically a hollow tube that spins really fast. It has little fins and little slots that create a kind of localized suction near the clot. When it starts to spin, it applies two forces at the same time: compression and rotary shear.
Renee Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford and senior author of the study published Nature, explains the concept well:
What makes the Milli-spinner unique is that it applies compressive and shear forces to shrink the entire clot, dramatically reducing volume without causing rupture.
To make you understand – Think of it as a ball of loose cotton wool. If you squeeze it between your palms and rub it in a circular motion, the fibers tangle together to form a smaller, denser ball. The milli-spinner does exactly that with the fibrin strands in the clot.
The fibrin rolls up like a ball
Clots are mostly red blood cells trapped in a network of fibrin, a protein that forms long thread-like strands. Traditional methods try to suck or drag the whole thing out at once, often breaking the fibrin apart and causing dangerous fragments.
The Milli-spinner instead uses suction to compress the clot against the end of the tube, while rapid rotation creates the shear needed to roll up the fibrin strands. The researchers were able to reduce the clots to 5% of their original size. The red blood cells are released and return to normal circulation, while the compacted fibrin ball is suctioned away.
Jeremy Heit, head of neuroimaging and neurointervention at Stanford and co-author of the study, summarizes the findings:
For most cases, we are more than doubling the effectiveness of current technology, and for the most difficult clots (which we remove only 11% of the time with current devices) we can open the artery on the first try 90% of the time.
A discovery born by chance
The project (as sometimes happens) was born almost by mistake. Zhao he was working on nanorobots to dispense medicine, and the rotating structure with fins was intended as a propulsion system. But when the team realized that it also created localized suction, they decided to test it on blood clots.
Surprise: the clot changed color from red to white and dramatically reduced in volume. Zhao admits: “At first we didn’t understand the mechanism. It seemed like magic.” Now it’s perspective.
Beyond Stroke, New Applications
Tests on pigs confirmed the effectiveness of the device, which It is now preparing for clinical trials. The team has already started a company to commercialize the technology.
Applications extend beyond stroke. The millispinner could treat heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other clot-related conditions. Researchers are already testing localized suction to remove fragments of kidney stones.
As we have highlighted in previous articles, technologies to manage clots are evolving rapidly. If this technique with ultrasonic vortices he was aiming for speed, the milli-spinner is aiming for precision.
The Future of Clot Removal
Every minute counts when a clot blocks oxygen to the brain. The faster it is removed, the more brain cells survive. With success rates ranging from 11% to 90% for the most difficult clots, this device could save thousands of lives.
The next challenge will be to adapt the technology to the human body and pass clinical trials. But the idea of “collapse” clots instead of breaking them marks a conceptual breakthrough that could redefine stroke treatment.
