Wireless Capsule Endoscope for Targeted Drug Delivery: Mechanics and Design Considerations

• Published in: IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering Vol. 60; no. 4; pp. 945 - 953
• Main Authors: Woods, Stephen P., Constandinou, Timothy G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.04.2013; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Capsule Endoscopy - instrumentation; Drug Delivery Systems - instrumentation; Equipment Design; Force; Gastrointestinal (GI) tract; Gears; Humans; Legged locomotion; Medical diagnostic imaging; microrobot; Models, Theoretical; Needles; Peristalsis - physiology; pill robot; Pressure; Reproducibility of Results; Robotics - instrumentation; targeted therapy; Torque; wireless capsule endoscopy
• ISSN: 0018-9294; 1558-2531
• DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2012.2228647

This paper describes a platform to achieve targeted drug delivery in the next-generation wireless capsule endoscopy. The platform consists of two highly novel subsystems: one is a micropositioning mechanism which can deliver 1 ml of targeted medication and the other is a holding mechanism, which gives the functionality of resisting peristalsis. The micropositioning mechanism allows a needle to be positioned within a 22.5° segment of a cylindrical capsule and be extendible by up to 1.5 mm outside the capsule body. The mechanism achieves both these functions using only a single micromotor and occupying a total volume of just 200 mm 3 . The holding mechanism can be deployed diametrically opposite the needle in 1.8 s and occupies a volume of just 270 mm 3 . An in-depth analysis of the mechanics is presented and an overview of the requirements necessary to realize a total system integration is discussed. It is envisaged that the targeted drug delivery platform will empower a new breed of capsule microrobots for therapy in addition to diagnostics for pathologies such as ulcerative colitis and small intestinal Crohn's disease.