A model for endoscopic capsule steering and active motion inside the human body

Abstract

In recent years, the interest in the development of endoscopic capsules (EC) has grown at a tremendous pace, since they promise both to perform diagnosis in a less invasive way in those areas accessible by traditional exams, such as gastroscopy and colonoscopy, and toaccess new areas of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract. The device is essentially a tiny camera, without any active locomotion and stop systems. Once ingested, the capsule is carried inside the GI tract by peristalsis motion, and the lack of stop mechanisms does not allow medical physicians to conduct, at desired locations, tasks such as biopsy, drug release and accurate visualization. This paper presents a model for an autonomous locomotion that is able to steer thanks to an external electromagnetic field. This active navigation and localization technology will be used to support capsule steering and active motion inside the human body. The active locomotion platform are obtain by neodymium NdFeB rare earth magnet and is composed by an external permanent magnet (EPM) guiding the capsule using a mechanical arm, and the EC has inside a small internal permanent magnet (IPM). The interaction between the EPM and the IPM inside the capsular device, the motion commands imposed by the user are transmitted to the capsular device through a magnetic link, able to accurately move and steer the EC inside the GI tract.