Engineers at MIT have created a soft robotic enteroscope that can inch through the narrow, hard-to-reach small intestine, enabling imaging, drug delivery, and biopsies of polyps or tissue samples. The device, described in a study published in Science Robotics, takes inspiration from snake locomotion and the textured scales that help snakes grip slippery surfaces.
Disorders of the small intestine are often difficult to diagnose and treat because the organ is more than 20 feet long, about an inch in diameter, and located deep within the body. Current procedures rely on double balloon enteroscopy, in which a health care worker manually inflates and deflates two balloons to propel the enteroscope through the tract, a slow and laborious process.
The MIT team designed an alternative that is easier to control and can move faster. The tube-like robot moves through the small intestine using multifunctional actuators that mimic a snake's slithering motion. Each actuator contains four chambers; inflating them in different combinations causes the tube to extend or bend in any direction.
Additional anchoring balloons in the head and tail segments inflate and deflate alternately to help the robot advance. These segments are coated with patterned sleeves inspired by kirigami, a variation of origami. When the balloon expands, three-dimensional kirigami needles pop out, giving the robot more traction on the slippery intestinal lining, similar to a snake's scales.
“When we evaluate the small intestine, we do it for either diagnosis or treatment. If we find a little polyp that needs to be removed, this robot allows us to take a biopsy or remove it,” said Giovanni Traverso, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and senior author of the study.
The system includes electronics for navigation and a controller that allows the operator to guide the robot through narrow passages and around tight corners. The soft robot is tethered to external controllers by a cable and is designed to enter the body through either the mouth or the rectum.
Lead authors of the study are former MIT postdoc Binbin Ying, now an assistant professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; MIT graduate student Ahmad Mujtaba Jebran; and former MIT research scientist Sahab Babaee.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The small intestine is notoriously difficult to access for diagnosis and treatment; this robot could make procedures faster and less dependent on manual skill.
- The kirigami-based traction coating is a novel solution for moving through slippery, delicate tissue without causing damage.
- If successfully translated to clinical use, the device could reduce procedure times and improve outcomes for patients with bleeding, lesions, or blockages in the small intestine.
Background
The small intestine is over 20 feet long and only about an inch in diameter, making conventional endoscopy challenging. The current standard, double balloon enteroscopy, requires a health care worker to alternately inflate and deflate two balloons to inch the scope forward, a slow process. The MIT robot is designed to automate and speed up this navigation. The lab of Giovanni Traverso has previously used kirigami-based coatings for shoe soles and esophageal stents.
Key Perspectives
Giovanni Traverso (senior author, MIT professor and gastroenterologist): said the fundamental challenge is evaluating that 20-to-25-foot segment of the small intestine in a way that can be more automated.
What to Watch
- Whether the robot progresses to human trials and how its performance compares to double balloon enteroscopy in clinical settings.
- Potential regulatory approval and commercialization of the device for medical use.
- Further development of the kirigami coating for other medical applications, such as drug delivery or stents.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedTraverso said: “When we evaluate the small intestine, we do it for either diagnosis or treatment. If we find a little polyp that needs to be removed, this robot allows us to take a biopsy or remove it,”MIT News: ““When we evaluate the small intestine, we do it for either diagnosis or treatment. If we find a little polyp that needs to be removed, this robot allows us to take a biopsy or remove it,” says Giovanni Traverso”
- SupportedThe quoted statement is attributed to Giovanni Traverso.MIT News: ““When we evaluate the small intestine, we do it for either diagnosis or treatment. If we find a little polyp that needs to be removed, this robot allows us to take a biopsy or remove it,” says Giovanni Traverso”
- SupportedMIT engineers designed a snake-inspired soft robotic enteroscope to diagnose and treat small-intestine disorders.MIT News: “MIT engineers have designed a new robotic enteroscope that can move easily through the narrow passage of the small intestine”
- Partly supportedThe device could make procedures faster and less labour-intensive.MIT News: “This process is slow and laborious, so the MIT team wanted to design an alternative enteroscope that would be easier to control and could move faster through the intestine.”
- Partly supportedThe robot enables imaging, drug delivery, and biopsies of polyps or tissue samples.MIT News: “allowing it to perform imaging, deliver drugs, and remove small polyps or tissue samples for biopsy.”
- SupportedThe small intestine is more than 20 feet long and about an inch in diameter.MIT News: “More than 20 feet long, an inch in diameter, and located deep within the body”
- SupportedThe current double-balloon procedure involves a health care worker alternately inflating and deflating two balloons to propel the enteroscope, and is slow and laborious.MIT News: “During the procedure, an enteroscope advances through the small intestine as a health care worker alternately inflates and deflates two balloons that help propel it through the tract. This process is slow and laborious”
- Partly supportedThe alternative robot is easier to control and can move faster through the intestine.MIT News: “the MIT team wanted to design an alternative enteroscope that would be easier to control and could move faster through the intestine.”
- SupportedThe robot’s actuators each contain four chambers that can be inflated in different combinations to extend or bend the tube.MIT News: “Each actuator contains four chambers, which can be inflated in different combinations, prompting the tube to extend or bend in any direction.”
- SupportedThe robot’s head and tail segments have alternating anchoring balloons and patterned kirigami-inspired sleeves whose needles improve traction.MIT News: “The head and tail segments of the robot contain additional expandable anchoring balloons that take turns inflating and deflating, helping the robot move forward.”
- SupportedThe robot is tethered to external controllers by a cable and is designed to enter through the mouth or rectum.MIT News: “The soft robot is tethered to the external controllers by a cable and is designed so that it could enter the body through either the mouth or the rectum.”
- SupportedThe study’s lead authors are Binbin Ying, Ahmad Mujtaba Jebran, and Sahab Babaee, with the stated roles and affiliations.MIT News: “The paper’s lead authors are former MIT postdoc Binbin Ying, who is now an assistant professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; MIT graduate student Ahmad Mujtaba Jebran; and former MIT research scientist Sahab Babaee.”