【#Tech24H】Engineers at MIT have developed a new robotic small intestine endoscope. It can navigate the narrow small intestine flexibly like a snake, cling to the intestinal wall via a special coating, and perform procedures including imaging examinations, drug delivery, tissue sampling and polyp resection, providing a new tool for the diagnosis and treatment of small intestinal diseases. The researchers designed multifunctional actuators to control the movement of this tubular soft robot. Each actuator contains four chambers that can be inflated in different combinations, enabling the tubular robot to stretch or bend in any direction. The robot can not only travel inside the intestine but also conduct a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic operations. It is fitted with a camera, a drug delivery nozzle and tissue grippers, for intraluminal imaging, drug administration, biopsy sample collection and small polyp removal.