Medical robots · research · MIT · 2026-10-28

MIT develops a soft robotic enteroscope that crawls through the small intestine

Three key points

  1. MIT reported a snake-inspired soft robotic enteroscope for the small intestine in Science Robotics.
  2. It carries a camera, a drug sprayer and biopsy clips, and uses kirigami sleeves for traction.
  3. It travelled about six and a half feet through the small intestine in animal studies; it is still research.

Story summary

MIT researchers developed a snake-inspired, tube-like soft robotic enteroscope, reported in Science Robotics. Four-chamber actuators let it extend and bend, while kirigami-patterned sleeves grip the slippery intestinal lining. It carries a camera, a drug sprayer and biopsy clips, and travelled about six and a half feet through the small intestine in animal studies. It remains research; no human use is reported.

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