Page 51 - Flexible Robotics in Medicine

34 Chapter 2

Figure 2.10
Screenshots of borescope camera within the bent component of the colon model.

was unable to be actuated independently through the colon models due to the weakness of
the prototype made of paper as well as actuation being insufficiently robust for the thick
borescope shaft and cable, which were relatively bigger and stiffer than the rubber tubing
connected to the syringe.

2.4.3 Future directions of study

This project requires further work to study materials that would be appropriate and ideal for
the robot’s intended application in colonoscopy. The task and scope were to create the
design for a soft robot prototype, so paper-based materials that are more readily available
and suitable for prototyping. Thus more work needs to go into studying materials that
would be mechanically strong enough to manipulate a colonoscope properly while retaining
success in efficiently inflating the soft robot, and that would be suitable for miniaturizing
the soft robot design.

The design of the soft robot needs further work to determine the ideal dimensions to
miniaturize the individual units to be able to assemble an appropriate colonoscope.
Although a miniaturized 9 mm model was successfully created, this dimension did not take
into account the attachment of a full-size colonoscope (typically around 11 mm) and would
prove the assembled soft robot too big to fit through the narrow sigmoid colon without
excess inflation or causing discomfort to the patient.

Further work will ensure that the robot can accurately mimic both the two chosen gaits,
which will require verification of the inflation and deflation sequence to be accurate in
achieving the locomotion of interest. The design might require slight modifications to
increase the friction component since these two gaits are dependent on friction to be
able to advance. Subsequently, future experiments will study the ability of the soft robot
to navigate through tubular models using these programmed biomimetic movement
patterns before using models based on the colon. Further work will automate the