Active/robotic capsule endoscopy - A review

Abstract

Capsule endoscopy represents an appealing alternative to conventional endoscopic procedures that cause discomfort to the patient and are considered tedious to the operator due to difficulty of endoscope manipulation because of the limited degrees of freedom (DOF). Therefore, active capsule endoscopy has become an important research topic as it enables targeted intestinal examination by controlling the capsule’s movements inside the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. An overview of the current state of art of active capsule endoscope systems is provided in this paper, discussing their different locomotion methods that can be classified to internally actuated and externally actuated. In addition to providing an overview of capsule endoscope functions, since the requirements of capsule endoscopy actuation (passive or active locomotion) might derive from the purpose/ function of the capsule. Developed capsule endoscope systems are discussed and systems with similar locomotion methods are compared. Generalized control schemes are presented to demonstrate the general control strategies implemented in each group of active capsule endoscope systems.

Keywords

• Capsule endoscopy
• Active capsule endoscope
• Locomotion methods
• Capsule endoscope functions
• Control strategies