Development of a modular link for colonoscopy intubation

A shape adjusting modular robotic system was implemented to improve the colonoscopy intubation process. The system consists of independent and homogenous robotic modules. Each individual module has its own processor, actuators, sensors, power supply, Bluetooth module, and unique end-effector. Modules are capable of sending and receiving data wirelessly via Bluetooth in order to communicate between modules. The number of modules in the system and the end-effectors can be varied to complete different tasks. A prototype was built with three modules connected in series in order to replace the colonoscope's distal tip and semi autonomously navigate the colon while being passively advanced. The BT communication protocol is defined, the kinematics for the 5-degree-of-freedom robotic system is modeled, and the shape changes were simulated in MATLAB. Performance of the system was tested on an up-scaled sigmoid colon model, which resulted in effective collision avoidance between its body and the colon wall.