Capsule endoscopes (CEs) have emerged as an advanced diagnostic technology for gastrointestinal diseases in recent decades. However, with regard to robotic motions, they require active movability and multi-functionalities for extensive, untethered, and precise clinical utilization. Herein, we present a novel wireless biopsy CE employing active five degree-of-freedom locomotion and a biopsy needle punching mechanism for the histological analysis of the intestinal tract. A medical biopsy punch is attached to a screw mechanism, which can be magnetically actuated to extrude and retract the biopsy tool, for tissue extraction. The external magnetic field from an electromagnetic actuation (EMA) system is utilized to actuate the screw mechanism and harvest biopsy tissue; therefore, the proposed system consumes no onboard energy of the CE. This design enables observation of the biopsy process through the capsule’s camera. A prototype with a diameter of 12 mm and length of 30 mm was fabricated with a medical biopsy punch having a diameter of 1.5 mm. Its performance was verified through numerical analysis, as well as in-vitro and ex-vivo experiments on porcine intestine. The CE could be moved to target lesions and obtain sufficient tissue samples for histological examination. The proposed biopsy CE mechanism utilizing punch biopsy and its wireless extraction–retraction technique can advance untethered intestinal endoscopic capsule technology at clinical sites.
Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a convenient and promising alternative endoscopic method for the gastrointestinal diagnostics on clinical sites; however, multifunctional utilization with active targeting locomotion is still challenging due to internal power limitations and micro-size manipulation mechanisms. The biopsy is one of the most demanding functions of intestinal CE, and successful developments could significantly improve the intestinal diagnostics for precise decisions and comfortable usage. In this paper, we present a novel active locomotive robotic biopsy capsule endoscope using an externally driven electromagnetic actuation (EMA) system and a battery-free wireless rotating blade mechanism. The external magnetic field from the EMA system controls both locomotion and biopsy operation, and thus, the proposed mechanism does not consume the internal power of the CE. We prototyped the proposed biopsy module and integrated it into an active locomotive capsule endoscope. Simulations were conducted to design the module and analyze the magnetic responses. We performed experiments with the biopsy capsule endoscope both in vitro and ex vivo to demonstrate its feasibility. In conclusion, the prototyped robotic biopsy capsule endoscope could successfully perform the necessary movements for the capsule in the small intestine and perform a biopsy at the target lesion with sufficient force. The amount of biopsy tissue was sufficient for a histological examination. INDEX TERMS Biopsy capsule endoscope, wireless capsule endoscope, electromagnetic actuation system, intestinal diagnosis.
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