Digestive diseases are a major burden for society and healthcare systems, and with an aging population, the importance of their effective management will become critical. Healthcare systems worldwide already struggle to insure quality and affordability of healthcare delivery and this will be a significant challenge in the midterm future. Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE), introduced in 2000 by Given Imaging Ltd., is an example of disruptive technology and represents an attractive alternative to traditional diagnostic techniques. WCE overcomes conventional endoscopy enabling inspection of the digestive system without discomfort or the need for sedation. Thus, it has the advantage of encouraging patients to undergo gastrointestinal (GI) tract examinations and of facilitating mass screening programmes. With the integration of further capabilities based on microrobotics, e.g. active locomotion and embedded therapeutic modules, WCE could become the key-technology for GI diagnosis and treatment. This review presents a research update on WCE and describes the state-of-the-art of current endoscopic devices with a focus on research-oriented robotic capsule endoscopes enabled by microsystem technologies. The article also presents a visionary perspective on WCE potential for screening, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures.

The design and fabrication of hydraulic microcomponents obtained by stereolithography are proposed in this paper. A piezoelectric micropump and microchannels have been fabricated and tested extensively. The pump body and the microchannels are made out of ultraviolet-photocurable polymer material and manufactured by a single stereolithographic prccess. Stereolithography has been selected since it allows the microfabrication of three-dimensional structures of any complex shape, even incorporating 'integral' movable parts that may require no assembly. The design of the pump body and the flow channels has been based on optimum hydraulic criteria. and aimed to obtain long life and quick, cheap and easy manufacturing. Design Nles have been studied in order to obtain hydraulic components with specific behaviours (flow rate, head, loss and charge). The paper describes the finite-element analysis of the thin plate pumping element and of the actuator, a s well as the fabrication and experimental performance of the pump. Experimental results show good agreement with theoretical prediction obtained by simulation, and values of flow rate and discharge head that are among the highest reported in the literature for pumps for similar size and working principles.

Colonoscopy is an important procedure for the diagnosis of various pathologies, in particular cancer of the colon and of the rectum, the second most malignant tumor in indusM-alized countries. At present, however, colonoscopy is a procedure often painful for the patient and complex for the doctor. This is mainly due to the characteristics of current colonoscopes, which are quite rigid and require the doctor to perfom dificult maneuvers for insertion. In this paper we present the concept and describe the design and fabrication of a new system for colonoscopy based a microrobot capable of propelling semi-autonomously along the colon. The microrobot system comprises a mothership incorporating devices for clamping the colon wall and tools for diagnosis and intervention. The actuation system is based on purposely developed Shape Memory Alloy ( S M } pneumatic microvalves. A HumanMachineInterface allows the doctor for teleoperating or supervising the functioning of the microrobot and for receiving visual and other information during endoscopy, Particular attention has been paid to investigate a reliable and safe method of locomotion and to develop an e@cient clamping system for the microrobot. The resulting conjguration of microrobot is vety simple and potentially suitable for real clinical application. A prototype microrobot system has been tested in vitro with promising results.

No abstract

No abstract