Minimally Invasive Bowel Cancer Detection through Vibrating Microrobot-Induced Elastography

Abstract

Early detection of bowel cancer is crucial for substantially improving patient outcomes, highlighting the need for less invasive diagnostic methods. Herein, an innovative diagnostic application of vibrating microrobots combined with laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to minimally invasively estimate the elasticity of potential tumors and surrounding healthy tissue is proposed. By positioning a vibrating microrobot on tissue surfaces, the resonant frequencies of the resulting vibrations are analyzed to create detailed elasticity maps. These maps reveal tumor margins and provide critical information about the tumor's properties spatially. This approach leverages the high spatio-temporal resolution and noncontact nature of LSCI to offer a minimally invasive elastography method for potential use in colonoscopy, providing an alternative to complex and time-consuming biopsy analysis and advancing future cancer diagnostics.