未知の管状環境におけるカプセルロボットの往復回転磁気駆動
On Reciprocally Rotating Magnetic Actuation of a Robotic Capsule in Unknown Tubular Environments
連続回転磁石に代わる往復回転磁気駆動法を提案し、カプセル内視鏡を未知の管状環境で自動推進させる手法を豚結腸で実証した。
著者: Yangxin Xu, Keyu Li, Ziqi Zhao, Max Q. -H. Meng
分類: cs.RO
原文アブストラクト
Active wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) based on simultaneous magnetic actuation and localization (SMAL) techniques holds great promise for improving diagnostic accuracy, reducing examination time and relieving operator burden. To date, the rotating magnetic actuation methods have been constrained to use a continuously rotating permanent magnet. In this paper, we first propose the reciprocally rotating magnetic actuation (RRMA) approach for active WCE to enhance patient safety. We first show how to generate a desired reciprocally rotating magnetic field for capsule actuation, and provide a theoretical analysis of the potential risk of causing volvulus due to the capsule motion. Then, an RRMA-based SMAL workflow is presented to automatically propel a capsule in an unknown tubular environment. We validate the effectiveness of our method in real-world experiments to automatically propel a robotic capsule in an ex-vivo pig colon. The experiment results show that our approach can achieve efficient and robust propulsion of the capsule with an average moving speed of $2.48 mm/s$ in the pig colon, and demonstrate the potential of using RRMA to enhance patient safety, reduce the inspection time, and improve the clinical acceptance of this technology.
