Robotic capsule inspects colon for cancer The Engineer

A tiny robotic capsule that can be guided through the colon to take micro-ultrasound images of the gut is being developed by a UK-led consortium. 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. "We are trying to create a system that could replace colonoscopy with a painless alternative," Valdastri said.