Development of Retention System of the Autonomous Endoscopic Capsule and Its Functionalities

Abstract

The aim of the research is to propose the retention system of the wireless endoscopic capsule allowing more detailed observation of stomach, small intestine as well as other parts of the digestive tract. The capsule has an outer layer or whiskers made of an electroactive polymer material that expands under influence of an applied voltage. An electroactive polymer expands up to 50% of its original size and creates a roughly ballshaped object approximately 3 cm in diameter (in case of whiskers – they change their angular orientation). The performance (changing the size) of the mock-up of the capsule with eight whiskers made of electroactive polymer was tested using a silicone model with sensitive sensors simulating the digestive tract of a person. The probability of failure-free operation and the mean time to failure for capsule and recording device integrated circuits were calculated.