RollerBall

A mobile robot for intraluminal locomotion

Conference paper (2016)

Authors

Joseph Norton University of Leeds
Adrian Hood St James's University Hospital
Anne Neville University of Leeds
David Jayne St James's University Hospital
Peter Culmer University of Leeds
Ali Alazmani University of Leeds
J.H. Boyle University of Leeds
Affiliation
External organisation
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2016

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Affiliation

External organisation

Abstract

There are currently a number of major drawbacks to using a colonoscope that limit its efficacy. One solution to this may be to use a warm liquid to distend the colon during inspection. Another is to replace the colonoscope with a small mobile robot-a solution many believe is the future of gastrointestinal intervention. This paper presents RollerBall, an intraluminal robot that uses wheeled-locomotion to traverse the length of a fluid-filled colon. The device provides a central, stable platform within the lumen for the use of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The concept is described in detail and the feasibility demonstrated in a series of tests in a synthetic colon.