Characteristics of a Pneumatic Bellows Actuator for Colonoscopy

Shuichi Wakimoto and Hidehiro Kametani

Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University
3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan

Received:

January 15, 2016

Accepted:

April 20, 2016

Published:

July 5, 2016

Keywords:

pneumatic actuator, colonoscope insertion assist device, film actuator

Abstract

Since colonoscopic insertion requires a high level of skill on the part of the examining physician, the patient may experience pain if the physician is not so highly skilled. In this study, our objective is to realize an easy-to-execute endoscopic insertion that does not rely on the physician’s skill. We develop a pneumatic actuator that gives the endoscope self-propulsion capability. The actuator is configured with three bellows made of polyethylene film. By applying pneumatic pressure to the bellows in a specific sequence to extend and contract them, the end of the actuator moves elliptically. Thus, the endoscope can be given propulsion performance by attaching several actuators and driving them in different phases. In this paper, the basic characteristics of the actuator are determined geometrically from the characteristics of the bellows, and then those characteristics are compared to the results of experiments. In addition, experiments are conducted in which a rod, used as a dummy endoscope, is transported through a pipe and inserted in an intestinal tract model. The experiments confirm and validate the proposed concept.

Cite this article as:

S. Wakimoto and H. Kametani, “Characteristics of a Pneumatic Bellows Actuator for Colonoscopy,” Int. J. Automation Technol., Vol.10 No.4, pp. 479-486, 2016.

Data files:

References

[1] National Cancer Center and Information Services, http://ganjoho.jp/public/index.html [accessed Jan. 14, 2016]
[2] T. Echigo, “Capsule endoscopy,” J. of The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers, Vol.62, No.6, pp. 860-862, 2009.
[3] K. Nakajima, “Large intestine endoscopic evaluation for young doctors,” Medical Review Co., Ltd., 2009 (in Japanese).
[4] H. Kita and H. Yamamoto, “Double-balloon endoscopy for the diagnosis and treatment of small intestinal disease,” Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, Vol.20, No.1, pp. 179-194, 2006.
[5] J. Abadie, N. Chaillet, and C. Lexcellent, “Modeling of a new SMA micro-actuator for active endoscopy applications,” Mechatronics, Vol.19, pp. 437-442, 2009.
[6] B. Kim, H. Lim, K. Kim, Y. Jeong, and J. Park, “A locomotive mechanism for a robotic colonoscope,” Proc. of IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 1373-1378, 2002.
[7] K. Ozaki, S. Wakimoto, K. Suzumori, and Y. Yamamoto, “Novel design of rubber tube actuator improving mountability and drivability for assisting colonoscope insertion,” Proc. of IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp. 3263-326, 2011.
[8] S. Wakimoto, I. Kumagai, and K. Suzumori, “Development of variable stiffness colonoscope consisting of pneumatic drive devices,” Int. J. of Automation Technology, Vol.5, No.4, 2011.
[9] T. Yanagida, K. Adachi, and T. Nakamura, “Development of bellows-type artificial rubber muscle and application to peristaltic crawling endoscopic robot,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.25, No.4, 2013.
[10] D. Glozman, N. Hassidov, M. Senesh, and M. Shoham, “A self-propelled inflatable earthworm-like endoscope actuated by single supply line,” IEEE Trans. on Biomedical Engineering, Vol.57, pp. 1264-1272, 2010.
[11] J. Zuo, G. Yan, and Z Gao, “A micro creeping robot for colonoscopy based on the earthworm,” J. of Medical Engineering and Technology, Vol.29, pp. 1-7, 2005.
[12] I. Kassim, L. Phee, W. Ng, F. Gong, P. Dario, and C. Mosse, “Locomotion techniques for robotic colonoscopy,” IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, pp. 49-56, 2006.
[13] P. Valdastri, M. Simi, and R. J. Webster, “Advanced technologies for gastrointestinal endoscopy,” Ann. Rev. of Biomedical Engineering, Vol.14, pp. 397-429, 2012.
[14] G. Pan and L. Wang, “Swallowable wireless capsule endoscopy: progress and technical challenges,” Gastroenterology Research and Practice, pp. 1-9, 2012.
[15] K. Kong, J. Cha, D. Jeon, and D. D. Cho, “A rotation micro biopsy device for the capsule endoscope,” Proc. of IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 1839-1843, 2005.
[16] F. Schnoll-Sussman, and K. Kulkarni, “Risks of capsule endoscopy,” Techniques in Gastrointestinal Endoscope, Vol.10, pp. 25-30, 2008.
[17] H. Kametani, S. Wakimoto, and Y. Nishioka, “Proposal and fundamental experiments of a novel pneumatic film actuator for assisting colonoscope Insertion,” Proc. of IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Biomimetics, pp. 2157-2162, 2015.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.