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A train robots to explore the stomach
:: 27 September, 2008
Swallowed behind each other, these tiny robotic devices can assemble themselves in the digestive tract. Once assembled, they can make a film or levy, or a restorative. Outcome of the international project Ares, the realization began to take shape.
To study the digestive tract of procedure, surgeons now have sophisticated tools. One of the latest date, the Pillcam, is a miniature camera that can be swallowed. But the penetration through natural imposes a size limit, so complex, and these explorers remain small for now confined to these missions simplistic. Now a consortium of European researchers is testing a way to connect several swallowable devices to create a surgical "robot" that would self-assemble inside the stomach.
In that sense, working for two years teams from four countries (Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland), met in the Ares (Assembling Reconfigurable endoluminal Surgical system). Their results will be presented this week in Nice at the conference IROS 2008 (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems).
Magnetic Links
The main problem with this modular approach is to bring together different devices injected into the digestive tract. To test the options, the Swiss team at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) used a beautiful model stomach transparent. Filled with liquid, he allowed the prototypes situation. The solution is magnetic. Multiple configurations were tested. The best takes the form of capsules, a certain length, met by small magnets. In most cases they agree to assemble in a set operational.
With the magnetic field, researchers say they can verify that the assembly went well. Peristaltic movements (that advance food) are then to provide the motive power to this team of robots now welded. By multiplying the elements, several functions could be integrated into this small train, at least one camera and no doubt a system of sampling.
For now, the team still before it verifying the safety of these small metal bars and loving. He will then integrate active devices and could perhaps one day swallow a train ...
Tags: robots to explore the stomach , explore the digestive tract , surgical robot , ETH ,
