Robotic Pill for Biomarker and Fluid Sampling in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

Health relevant information is coded in circulating signatures or biomarkers, such as the secretome, extracellular vesicles, nucleic acids, bacteria, and other markers. [1][2][3] The collection and analysis of such signatures can serve as an early sign of disease initiation and its progression through repeated sampling. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to isolate or sample biomarkers from regions of the body with limited accessibility, such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which is more than 9 meters in total length. [11,12] To gain access to these challenging locations, invasive medical procedures, such as surgery, biopsies, and colonoscopies, are required to extract information, limiting the repeatability of such measurements. [13][14][15] These techniques involve trained practitioners, expensive instruments, and specialized facilities, making them hard to expand to a large population. In contrast, minimally invasive approaches can also be used for sampling biomarkers. [16] For instance, liquid biopsy is a standard approach to obtain a snapshot of the signature pool from biofluids (blood, urine, or stool samples). [17,18] Although useful, liquid biopsy frequently provides indirect data that is averaged across the sample and not specific to a particular region of the body.Smart pills have been deployed as a method to investigate cavities inside the body. [19][20][21][22][23][24] For instance, the PillCam, an ingestible capsule with an embed camera, is commonly used to search for polyps in the GI. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] More recently, smart pills have been applied to capture and sense biomarkers through lab-on-a-chip systems, [26][27][28] osmotic gradients, [29] and passive absorption in refs. [30][31][32] methods. The ability to isolate biomarkers within localized environments

Programmable Shape Morphing Metasponge

“…The slower release profile could be an alternative diffusion‐based approach compared to the degradable polymeric material coatings. [ 47 ] These results suggest that the adaptability and robust behavior of the metasponge have broad potential applications in the biomedical field.…”

“…The absorbent material is entangled within the mesh of the elastomer matrix; thus, there is nonsignificant leaking or release of the passive material from the metasponge. [47,48] In addition, the elastomer matrix provides mechanical robustness to the metasponge compared to a pure hydrogel structure (Figure S2, Supporting Information) and enables it to expand compared to other stiff matrixes, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, Figure S3, Supporting Information).…”

Review article: Current status and future directions of ingestible electronic devices in gastroenterology

“…Various sampling devices have been described in prototype form, including a device able to collect small sample volumes in ex vivo and pig models, and a wireless device with magnetic actuation system, which is yet to be reported in vivo 136–140 . Active control over timing and localisation of sampling remains under development, and advances in robotic technology will undoubtedly overcome many of these current limitations in the future 141,142 . At this stage, despite multiple reports describing novel designs with claims of proof‐of‐concept, none have provided key peer‐reviewed data that move the concepts into the realm of clinical reality.…”

“… 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 Active control over timing and localisation of sampling remains under development, and advances in robotic technology will undoubtedly overcome many of these current limitations in the future. 141 , 142 At this stage, despite multiple reports describing novel designs with claims of proof‐of‐concept, none have provided key peer‐reviewed data that move the concepts into the realm of clinical reality. A logistical issue that is not likely to be overcome in the near future is the need to retrieve the excreted device in order to analyse the sampled material.…”

Sensing Mucus Physiological Property In Situ by Wireless Millimeter‐Scale Soft Robots

“…GI tract endoscope-based procedures such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) [16] or colonoscopy [17] cannot access the small intestine and upper colon easily and can potentially cause trauma and other complications for patients under anesthesia. [18,19] In addition, passive capsule devices [20][21][22][23] and mobile capsule endoscope robots [24][25][26][27][28][29] have been developed to collect and sense biofluids in the GI tract, [30,31] which are typically at the centimeter scale and can only access the space with comparable size of the capsule in the GI tract. [32] Moreover, further in vitro testing of the properties of the collected mucus sample using fluorescence microscopes and other tools [33] may not accurately reflect the mucus properties as they depend on the environment humidity and temperature.…”