A team of Korean scientists says it has opened up clogged arteries of an animal using a micro robot in a world first.

Robot Research Initiative, an affiliate of Chonnam National University, said Sunday that it injected a robot measuring one millimeter wide and five millimeters long into a lab animal for the test.

The team says that if the medicine is connected to the robot, the robot could help not only eliminate blood clots but also prevent heart disease.

The research is part of a project to develop micro robots that can treat coronary artery disease. The Knowledge Economy Ministry has injected some 20 billion won into the project since 2007.

The scientists say the micro robots could be used to treat people in ten years.