A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection

pH and temperature in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are correlated with many diseases, but patients suffer from the pain of traditional testing methods. Functionalized capsule robots for GI tract sensing offer a potential approach for early GI disease diagnosis. However, most capsule robots strugg...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ziying Wang, Hang Yin, Zilin Wei, Shisheng Chen, Jiameng Li, Jingyao Sun, Wei Zhao, Yejuan Jia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025-01-01
Series:Research
Online Access:https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0807
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849241400632147968
author Ziying Wang
Hang Yin
Zilin Wei
Shisheng Chen
Jiameng Li
Jingyao Sun
Wei Zhao
Yejuan Jia
author_facet Ziying Wang
Hang Yin
Zilin Wei
Shisheng Chen
Jiameng Li
Jingyao Sun
Wei Zhao
Yejuan Jia
author_sort Ziying Wang
collection DOAJ
description pH and temperature in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are correlated with many diseases, but patients suffer from the pain of traditional testing methods. Functionalized capsule robots for GI tract sensing offer a potential approach for early GI disease diagnosis. However, most capsule robots struggle with control and sensing integration. In addition, the friction encountered by capsule robots during navigation poses a challenge for their application. Here, a capsule robot with a low coefficient of friction is proposed to continuously detect pH and temperature. The hydrogel skin reduces the surface friction coefficient by more than 4 times and achieves an average propulsion speed of 12.79 mm s−1 in a living porcine small intestine. The capsule system enables continuous detection over a pH range of 2 to 8 and a temperature of 36 to 40 °C. We demonstrate capsule robots’ capability of multimodal locomotion through complex stomach and small intestine environment. It solves the problem that capsule robots used for sensing functions cannot be precisely controlled and achieves drive–control–sensing integration.
format Article
id doaj-art-620200d117584bfabf3ffb11eb4c3fcf
institution Kabale University
issn 2639-5274
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
record_format Article
series Research
spelling doaj-art-620200d117584bfabf3ffb11eb4c3fcf2025-08-20T04:00:10ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Research2639-52742025-01-01810.34133/research.0807A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion DetectionZiying Wang0Hang Yin1Zilin Wei2Shisheng Chen3Jiameng Li4Jingyao Sun5Wei Zhao6Yejuan Jia7School of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China.School of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China.Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, PR China.Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, PR China.School of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China.School of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China.Tianjin Children’s Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300204, PR China.School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050200, PR China.pH and temperature in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are correlated with many diseases, but patients suffer from the pain of traditional testing methods. Functionalized capsule robots for GI tract sensing offer a potential approach for early GI disease diagnosis. However, most capsule robots struggle with control and sensing integration. In addition, the friction encountered by capsule robots during navigation poses a challenge for their application. Here, a capsule robot with a low coefficient of friction is proposed to continuously detect pH and temperature. The hydrogel skin reduces the surface friction coefficient by more than 4 times and achieves an average propulsion speed of 12.79 mm s−1 in a living porcine small intestine. The capsule system enables continuous detection over a pH range of 2 to 8 and a temperature of 36 to 40 °C. We demonstrate capsule robots’ capability of multimodal locomotion through complex stomach and small intestine environment. It solves the problem that capsule robots used for sensing functions cannot be precisely controlled and achieves drive–control–sensing integration.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0807
spellingShingle Ziying Wang
Hang Yin
Zilin Wei
Shisheng Chen
Jiameng Li
Jingyao Sun
Wei Zhao
Yejuan Jia
A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
Research
title A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
title_full A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
title_fullStr A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
title_full_unstemmed A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
title_short A Low-Friction Capsule Robot with Drive–Control–Sensing Integration for Gastrointestinal Lesion Detection
title_sort low friction capsule robot with drive control sensing integration for gastrointestinal lesion detection
url https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0807
work_keys_str_mv AT ziyingwang alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT hangyin alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT zilinwei alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT shishengchen alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT jiamengli alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT jingyaosun alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT weizhao alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT yejuanjia alowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT ziyingwang lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT hangyin lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT zilinwei lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT shishengchen lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT jiamengli lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT jingyaosun lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT weizhao lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection
AT yejuanjia lowfrictioncapsulerobotwithdrivecontrolsensingintegrationforgastrointestinallesiondetection