Design of a wireless anchoring and extending micro robot system for gastrointestinal tract

Background Diagnosis and treatment using a conventional endoscope in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are very common nowadays. However, endoscopy has some disadvantages. Methods This paper describes a wireless micro-robot for active locomotion in the GI tract. After design and analysis of the anchoring-extending gait, two mechanisms were developed to meet the gait requirements. These actuation and transmission mechanisms were demonstrated in detail to explain the gait implementation. The mechanisms were driven by a micro-brush direct current motor with a micro-normal module (m=0.2mm) gearbox. The force of the mechanisms was tested to guarantee the sufficiency of the gait and the safety of the robot. After mounting a dedicated video capture unit and wireless power receiving coils, in vitro experiments were conducted to show the feasibility of locomotion by wireless power supply. Results The assembled micro-robot was 13mm in diameter and 90mm in length, with a velocity of 1mm/s at 500mW power consumption. Conclusions The proposed anchoring and extending intestinal micro-robot met the requirements of intestinal disease diagnosis and treatment. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.