Robotic capsule inspects colon for cancer

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including some bowel cancers, account for approximately eight million deaths a year worldwide.

The Sonopill, being developed by researchers at Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Dundee Universities, alongside Vanderbilt University in the US, could ultimately replace the need for patients to undergo a potentially painful endoscopic examination, in which a long, semi-rigid scope is passed into the bowel.

The robotic device, which has successfully completed feasibility studies and is described in the journal Science Robotics, is based on a technique called intelligent magnetic manipulation, according to Pietro Valdastri, chair in robotics and autonomous systems at Leeds University.

A robotic arm equipped with a series of magnets is passed over the patient. The magnets on the arm interact with a magnet inside the capsule, manoeuvring it through the colon without the need for a physical connection.

“We are trying to create a system that could replace colonoscopy with a painless alternative,” Valdastri said. “Instead of pushing a stiff tube from the back, we are pulling this capsule with magnetic fields from the front.”