Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. The goal of this project is to design, build, and test a soft robotic system enabling a colonoscope tip to crawl and maneuver in the colon, eliminating the need to be pushed and cause perforations, bleeding, infection, and other complications caused during a traditional colonoscopy procedure. The system will facilitate exploring, imaging, sampling, and drug delivery all the way to the end of the colon which is usually inaccessible by the traditional stiff colonoscopes. Numerical simulations (FEA) combined with electrical components, mechanical features, and harmless manufacturing materials are used to improve the kirigami skin locomotion compatible with the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The finalized prototype is tested in vivo in a porcine large animal model with a similar GI tract to humans.

“I am planning to go to medical school after MIT and have always been interested in design and implementation of medical devices. SuperUROP will allow me to combine my interest in MechE, EECS, and medicine in one project and design, develop and test an ingestible electromechanical system that can be used for exploring, imaging, sampling, and delivering biological payloads. It has the potential to improve and transform non-invasive medical treatments.”