Dynamic analysis of a soft capsule robot self-propelling in the small intestine via finite element method
Dynamic analysis of a soft capsule robot self-propelling in the small intestine via finite element method
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DOI：
10.1007/s11071-023-08376-z
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发表时间：
2023-04
影响因子：
5.6
通讯作者：
Jiyuan Tian;K. O. Afebu;Ze Wang;Y. Liu;S. Prasad
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jiyuan Tian;K. O. Afebu;Ze Wang;Y. Liu;S. Prasad
为了减少刚性外壳对肠道造成的潜在创伤，同时优化其推进效率，将弹性体涂层应用于自推进胶囊机器人进行小肠内窥镜检查。机器人是自我推进的周期性激发的内部质量与胶囊的主体在肠道阻力的存在下相互作用。这项工作探讨了具有不同弹性体涂层的胶囊的动态响应（即，不同的弹性模量和厚度）。进一步测试了机器人的驱动参数，包括方波激励的幅值、频率和占空比，以揭示该柔性机器人的动力学特性。通过对数值结果的分析，所提出的有限元模型可以提供定量预测的接触压力，阻力和机器人肠道动力学在不同的弹性体涂层。结果发现，弹性体涂层越软，机器人和肠道之间的接触压力越小，因此意味着创伤越小。这项工作的研究结果可以提供设计指南和评估手段的机器人工程师谁正在开发软医疗机器人的肠道检查以及临床医生工作的胶囊内窥镜。
To reduce potential trauma to the intestine caused by the rigid shell while also optimising its progression efficiency, an elastomer coating was applied to a self-propelled capsule robot for small-bowel endoscopy. The robot is self-propelled by its periodically excited inner mass interacting with the main body of the capsule in the presence of intestinal resistance. This work explored the dynamic responses of the capsule with different elastomer coatings (i.e., different elastic moduli and thicknesses) in the lumen of the small intestine through a three-dimensional finite element analysis. The driving parameters of the robot, including the amplitude, frequency and duty cycle of a square-wave excitation, were further tested to reveal the dynamics of this soft robot. By analysing numerical results, the proposed finite element model can provide quantitative predictions on the contact pressure, resistance force and robot-intestine dynamics under different elastomer coatings. It was found that the softer the elastomer coating is, the lesser the contact pressure between the robot and the intestine, thus implying lesser trauma. The findings of this work can provide design guidelines and an evaluation means for robotic engineers who are developing soft medical robots for bowel examinations as well as clinical practitioners working on capsule endoscopy.