Abstract
Various types of rigid and flexible endoscopes are used to inspect and to perform therapeutic procedures on different parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Due to the working characteristics of conventional endoscopes, most GI endoscopy procedures are unpleasant for the patient, and are technically demanding for the endoscopist. The authors are developing minirobots for semi-autonomous or autonomous locomotion in the GI tract. In this paper, the authors illustrate the systematic approach to the problem of “effective” locomotion in the GI tract and the critical analysis of “inchworm” locomotion devices, based on extensor and clamper mechanisms. The fundamentals of locomotion and the practical problems encountered during the development and the testing (in vitro and in vivo) of these devices are discussed. Finally, two mini-robots capable of propelling themselves in the colon and potentially suitable to perform rectum-sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy are presented.
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Phee, L., Menciassi, A., Accoto, D., Stefanini, C., Dario, P. (2003). Analysis of Robotic Locomotion Devices for the Gastrointestinal Tract. In: Jarvis, R.A., Zelinsky, A. (eds) Robotics Research. Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, vol 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-36460-9_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-36460-9_31
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