Motion Characteristics of Smart Capsule with Triangular Arrangement of Actuators

삼각 배치 구동에 의한 스마트 캡슐의 이동 특성

At present, colonoscopy is performed by means of quite long and flexible endoscopes and controlled manually. Although the flexibility of the distal tip allows the endoscope to follow the tortuous path of the colon, the insertion of the endoscope requires the endoscopist to exert forces on and to perform rotations of the proximal end; these actions cause discomfort to the patient. Though self-propelling colonoscopic systems has been suggested to overcome these problems, it is difficult to pass through highly curved regions of the intestine. In this paper, we introduce a steering mechanism for a self-propelling coloinlscope, the smart capsule, which has three actuator units. The mechanism is designed not only to move forward and backward but also to pass through the curved regions. We derived the governing equations of this mechanism. Active movements and motion control are developed.