Design and Fabrication of a Novel Teardrop-Shaped Magnetically Guided Hollow Robot for Potential Capsule Application

Wireless capsule robot technology is promising because it is minimally invasive. Magnetically guided capsule robots, in particular, have garnered significant attention because they allow for noninvasive or less invasive remote control of endoscopes within the body. However, miniaturizing capsule robots remains a challenge, especially for applications within the urinary system. This article proposed a novel teardrop-shaped magnetically guided capsule robot, which has several salient features. First, a coupled design strategy was implemented for the actuator and body, reducing the overall size of the device. Second, a bio-inspired teardrop shape was utilized in the design to minimize resistance (RES) as the robot moves within the body, with the design process supported by the finite element analysis, regression model, and the Taguchi robust design technique. Third, a special 3-D printing method was employed to fabricate a prototype of the robot, taking advantage of its capability to print micro/nanometer features. An in vitro experiment was conducted to validate the effectiveness and potential of the capsule robot system.