Development of a colon propulsion soft robot for an enteral liquid ventilation system

Abstract

Enteral liquid ventilation has been proposed in which oxygenated perfluorodecalin (O2-PFD) is perfused into the large colon area for continuous gas exchange. We have developed a soft robot, driven by pneumatic actuators, that automatically inserts an inlet tube deep into the colon for efficient enteral ventilation. The propulsion characteristics of the soft robot in the colon were evaluated in animal experiments. A liquid was successfully discharged deep into the colon from an inlet tube inserted using the soft robot.