Feasibility study of electromagnetic guidance system for intestinal capsule endoscope

Owing to some limitations (uncomfortable procedure, pains, and side effects of anesthetic drug) of a conventional flexible endoscope in gastrointestinal diagnostic procedure, the capsule endoscope was invented and released as an alternative. In spite of many benefits of the capsule endoscope, however, it has been limited used only for esophagus and small intestine because of its mobility deficiency in the diagnosis. Therefore, in order to expand the applicable fields of the capsule endoscopy into stomach and colon, the mobility function such as 3-dimensional (D) locomotion of the capsule endoscope is indispensable. Previously, some researchers proposed the mobility mechanisms of the capsule endoscope. However, they could not realize sufficiency DOF (degree of freedom) and not show various motions of the capsule endoscope. In this paper, therefore, we propose a novel electromagnetic actuation (EMA) system which can operate 3-D locomotion of a capsule endoscope in the digestive organs. The proposed electromagnetic actuation system for guiding magnetic capsule endoscope, comprised of 5-pairs of solenoid coils and a capsule endoscope with a small magnet. By the electromagnetic field which is operated from the EMA system using the five pairs of solenoid coils, the capsule endoscope can show diverse motions for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract like as propulsion to any direction, steering and helical motion. Through a locomotion test, we confirm that ALICE can show the tracking angle error under 4 degrees. In addition, to verify the feasibility of ALICE as a real diagnostic device, a real camera and a FPV (First-person Point of View) control interface are integrated with ALICE. Consequently, through the basic mobility test and the in-vitro test, we verify the feasibility of ALICE system as a medical endoscopic device.