Development of an actuator for reduction in inspection time of gastrointestinal endoscopy

Abstract

Capsule endoscopes are often used for medical examinations of the digestive system. Currently, endoscopy examination takes a few days to be completed because capsules do not have any actuator. In this study, an inclined-leg actuator inspired by Setaria viridis was developed. Small-sized inclined-leg actuators of the angles (75°) were designed and fabricated, considering as parameters the lengths (4 mm, 8 mm, and 12 mm) of the legs; the running velocities of the actuators were measured when vibrations with different frequencies and amplitudes were applied. At frequencies > 40 Hz, the actuator velocities exceeded the target speed of >10 mm/s. Therefore, the proposed design of vibration-driven actuator has potential to be applied in capsule endoscopes.