Nanoprobe Nanoprobes were microscopic robotic devices used by the Borg for the primary purpose of assimilation , as well as to help maintenance and even repair their mechanical and biological components on a microscopic level . Injected into a target ' s blood stream via assimilation tubule s , the nanoprobes immediately began to take over the host s ' functions . Nanoprobes could also be modified for a variety of medical and technical tasks . ( ) Each drone ' s nanoprobes have a unique encoding sequence . ( ) Seven of Nine ' s body contained 3 . 6 million nanoprobes as of 2377 . ( ) When Borg drones attempted to assimilate Doctor Phlox of , his Denobulan immune system was able to fight off the nanoprobes long enough for him to discover that they were vulnerable to omicron particle s . However the scale of the radiation dose required to destroy every nanoprobe in his body in one blast before they could adapt to the treatment meant that this method could not be used against the assimilation process on a larger scale , Phlox only surviving due to the immune system that allowed him to resist them for so long . ( ) In 2371 , Beverly Crusher removed a nanoprobe from Geordi La Forge after he had been captured and torture d by Tolian Soran . ( ) In 2374 , The Doctor was able to modify nanoprobes as an offensive weapon against Species 8472 . He reprogrammed them to mimic the alien cells ' electrochemical signatures , so that they could evade detection by Species 8472 ' s immune system while continuing to assimilate . These nanoprobes could be delivered inside a photon torpedo or along a phaser beam . ( ) Nanoprobes could also be modified to attack specific cells which contained a virus or some other disease and so help the patient recover . In 2375 , Seven of Nine encoded some of her nanoprobes to assimilate the synthehol molecules in Kadi Ambassador Tomin ' s blood stream , allowing him to recover from his intoxication in time to return to his people . ( ) Nanoprobes can also be modified to repair damaged tissue . Between 2248 and 2378 the probe Friendship 1 crashed on Otrin ' s homeworld and Otrin ' s species attempted to use the probe ' s Antimatter warp drive to power their electrical grid . The reactor exploded and poisoned the atmosphere with radiation . The crew of USS Voyager was sent to the surface to recover the probe and brought back Otrin and Brin ' s baby with them . Seven of Nine and The Doctor modified Seven ' s nano probes to repair the damaged tissue and remove the radiation from their bodies . With the test successful the Voyager crew then applied it to Otrin ' s species to treat the effects of their radiation exposure after restoring their world . ( VOY : " Friendship One " ) Since bio - neural circuitry is organic in nature , nanoprobes could also be used to influence or disable this type of circuitry . ( ) In 2377 , Borg nanoprobes were worth six bars of latinum each on the open market . In that year , Ferengi marauders attempted to obtain Seven of Nine ' s nanoprobes by perpetrating an elaborate scheme , in which a reprogrammed hologram of Reginald Barclay would bring the to them through a geodesic fold , with the effect of killing the entire crew due to the radiation they were exposed to while traversing the fold . ( )