The small intestine, over 20 feet long and only about an inch in diameter, lies deep inside the body, making conventional diagnostics difficult. Inspired by snake locomotion and the friction‑providing scales, MIT engineers created a soft‑robotic enteroscope. The tube‑shaped robot houses multifunctional actuators with four chambers each; by inflating different chamber combinations the robot can extend, retract, or bend in any direction. Head and tail segments contain expandable anchoring balloons that inflate alternately, while a kirigami‑inspired patterned sleeve coats these segments. When the balloon expands, the flat sleeve stretches and three‑dimensional kirigami needles pop out, mimicking snake scales to increase traction on the slippery mucosa.
The robot is tethered to an external controller via a cable and can be introduced through the mouth or rectum. Integrated tools include a camera for imaging, a sprayer for drug delivery, and micro‑clips that can biopsy tissue or remove polyps, enabling both diagnosis and treatment. In animal studies the robot traveled roughly 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) inside the small intestine and demonstrated successful imaging, drug spraying, and tissue clipping.
The team is now refining navigation algorithms and testing additional clinical uses. Funding came from MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department, the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Samsung Semiconductor, and other sources.
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