Paddling based microrobot for capsule endoscopes

Recently, the capsule endoscope can be widely used for the diagnosis of digestive organs. It is passively moved by the peristaltic waves of gastro-intestinal tract and thus has some limitations for doctor to get the image of the organ and to diagnose more thoroughly. As a solution of these problems, therefore, a locomotive mechanism of capsule endoscopes has being developed. Our proposed capsule-type microrobot has synchronized multiple legs that are actuated by a linear actuator and two mobile cylinders inside of the capsule. By the novel kinematic relation between the legs and the mobile cylinders, the microrobot can easily move forward in the gastro-intestine. For the feasibility test of the proposed locomotive mechanism, a series of experiments were carried out including in-vitro and in-vivo tests. Based on the experimental results, we conclude that the proposed locomotive mechanism is not only easy to be used for micro capsule endoscopes but also effective to move inside of intestinal tract.