Design of new-generation robotic capsules for therapeutic and diagnostic endoscopy

This paper presents the design of two (2) novel endoscopic capsules. Using current capsule endoscopy technologies approximately 70,000 images of the human gastric tract are obtained during the examination. Usually, these images are reviewed by a gastroenterologist in a form of a video at various speeds (5 - 40 frames/sec). A physician spends 55 to 180 minutes reading these results. This represents a major problem for the gastroenterologist because it consumes a lot of time. Usually, it takes several days for the examination results to become available since the physician has to find the time frame to study each video uninterrupted for up to 3 hours. Researchers and companies have developed software methodologies for speeding up the examination process by reducing the number of frames per video. In addition, several new designs have been proposed for more efficient and flexible capsules. These designs offer potential solutions for the endoscopy field. In this paper we present our novel designs for two flexible capsules, a diagnostic capsule and a therapeutic capsule. The diagnostic capsule enhances the imaging characteristics of the intestine and achieves more accurate diagnoses. The therapeutic capsule is fully controllable, moveable and is able to collect specimens from a suspicious area for a quick biopsy. The design of these capsules is based on features selected from in house software methodologies, as well as characteristics of the small intestine such as peristalsis.