Accidental swallowing of foreign body, or something wrong with the stomach, to the hospital, with a gastroscope gift package, experienced people understand how this collapse.
Some researchers have recently researched the results and may soon save the stomach from discomfort. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a new type of ingestible robot that can be used to repair internal wounds, deliver drugs, or remove erroneous food bodies from the stomach.
Researchers call it an "origami robot," and in particular, it is edible. They tested dozens of materials and finalized the pig intestines that were used to make sausage casings. After drying it, adding micro-magnets, the robots were made. The robot is then folded and placed in a digestible capsule. The patient swallows. After the origami robot releases it, it can be guided by an external magnet to control the movement of the robot in the stomach.
The new robot is made of two structural layers sandwiched between heat-shrinkable materials. The middle layer of the dried pig intestine is heat-shrinked, and the outer narrow-slit pattern determines how the robot folds.
In a non-simulated stomach environment, the skills of a origami robot can be quite a few. Although it is only 1cm long and weighs 0.33g, it can “pick up” 0.6g of “heavy weight”.
Overcoming small obstacles is no longer a problem.
It can also parade in the water.
The important thing is that if the task is completed, the folding robot can melt itself.
In the eyes of creative designers, this origami robot has great future prospects. "In vivo applications require a small, controllable, unlimited robot system," said Verge, citing Daniela Rus, director of the MIT computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory, saying that the healthcare field will be very useful. If you connect a robot with a rope, it's really hard to control."
From this point of view, at least in theory, folding robots can perform certain tasks in the human body, such as carrying lightweight objects. However, if only guided by an external magnet, it is difficult to accurately reach the correct part. Therefore, the researchers first envisaged the realization of button batteries that were taken from the stomach. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the United States, there are more than 3,500 reports of button cells swallowing each year, and the consequences may be disfigurement or even death.
To assess whether the folding robot can be used, the researchers used a silicon material to simulate the cross section of the stomach of the pig, simulate the acidity of the stomach with water and lemon juice, and test the operation to remove the battery.
After reaching the “stomach”, after the folding robot is unfolded, the operator can move it by magnetic force. Through the “stick-slip” movement, the robot appendage can move on the surface with friction; the body is curled up, Can also freely slide. It can even propel fluids like paddles.
The experiment still has some effect, but there are still many problems, especially the accuracy needs to be improved. Daniela Rus said that it would take 3-4 years to test in animals first, and then test it on humans, which may take 3-4 years. In particular, folding robots are still in the category of medical devices. After FDA approval, it took a long time. MIT professor William Messner believes that if you want to popularize the device, I am afraid it will take about 10 years. "The next step is to add the sensor to the folding robot and redesign it so that it can be controlled by itself without using a magnetic field." Daniela Rus told The Verge.