Robot Colonoscopy Tech Could Stop Cancer In GI Tract

Could tiny robots change the way doctors perform colonoscopies? Researchers are touting an autonomous robot that can explore someone's colon to help catch cancers and lesions in that body part and remove them. After successfully testing the robot numerous times in a pig's colon, the team presented its findings at the Digestive Disease Week conference, describing the capsule machine as able to do "intricate maneuvers," according to the American Gastroenterological Association. "Researchers believe this technology will reduce the potential discomfort of colonoscopies and lead to more people undergoing the life-saving screening test." The 18-millimeter capsule robot is still inserted through the rectum and still has a tether, but it is a soft one and smaller than the endoscopes doctors currently use to explore a patient's colon, which has the added benefit of allowing for other instruments like for irrigation and suction.