NRI: Personal Pill Sized Soft Medical Robots for the Gastrointestinal Tract

描述(申请人提供)：虽然药丸大小的胶囊内窥镜越来越多地被用作诊断胃肠道疾病的无线成像设备，但它们仅限于被动成像或传感应用。因此，许多研究人员一直在提出主动机器人胶囊内窥镜，这种内窥镜可以通过位置控制来实现对Gl区的主动成像，并实现新的医疗功能。然而，由于在驱动、运动、动力和安全性方面的挑战，这种机器人胶囊还不能用于任何临床或个人用途。因此，这项提案旨在通过设计和制造新型药丸大小的软胶囊机器人来应对这些挑战，这些机器人具有远程驱动和控制，可供临床和潜在的个人使用。我们假设，将软机器人与磁力驱动的机器人胶囊内窥镜相结合，将使安全、微创、多功能、精确控制和药丸大小的胶囊机器人能够在胃和胃肠道的其他区域具有新的高级诊断和治疗功能。所提出的机器人设计的安全性和舒适性来自于其柔软、小巧和远程磁力驱动方式。在本项目的三年期间，将实现三个具体目标。首先，将开发具有远程磁力驱动、三维定位和位置控制能力的新型软内窥镜胶囊机器人原型。接下来，将开发集成到软胶囊内窥镜机器人原型中的四种新的高级诊断和治疗功能(主动成像、原位组织顺应性测绘、半植入性药物输送和主动实时药物输送)。最后，研制的软内窥镜胶囊机器人样机的安全性和可操作性将在新鲜猪胃中进行体外测试。这三个目标的成功将为新的软机器人胶囊内窥镜打开大门，供临床或潜在的个人使用，它们将共存于患者体内，以提高他们的生活质量和医疗辅助。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While pill sized capsule endoscopes are increasingly used as wireless imaging devices for diagnosing diseases in the Gl tract, they are limited to passive imaging or sensing applications only. Therefore, many researchers have been proposing active robotic capsule endoscopes that can be position controlled to enable active imaging ofthe Gl tract and enable new medical functions. However, such robotic capsules are not available yet for any clinical or personal use yet due to challenges in their actuation, locomotion, powering, and safety. Therefore, this proposal aims to propose solutions against these challenges by designing and manufacturing new pill sized soft capsule robots with remote actuation and control for clinical and potentially personal use. We hypothesize that combining soft robotics with magnetically actuated robotic capsule endoscopes would enable safe, minimally invasive, multi-functional, precisely controlled, and pill sized capsule robots with new advanced diagnostic and therapeutic functions in stomach and other regions ofthe Gl tract. Safety and comfort ofthe proposed robot design come from its softness, small size, and remote magnetic actuation method. Three specific aims will be addressed during the three-year duration ofthis project. First, new soft endoscopic capsule robot prototypes with remote magnetic actuation, 3-D localization, and position control capabilities will be developed. Next, four new advanced diagnostic and therapeutic functions (active imaging, in situ tissue compliance mapping, semi-implantable drug delivery, and active real-time drug delivery) integrated to the soft capsule endoscope robot prototypes will be developed. Finally, safety and operation ofthe developed soft endoscopic capsule robot prototypes will be tested in vitro inside fresh porcine stomach. Success on these three aims will open up the door for new soft robotic capsule endoscopes for their clinical or potentially personal use where they would coexist inside patients for improving their quality of life and health-care assistance.