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Medical robots · research · MIT · 2026-10-28
MIT develops a soft robotic enteroscope that crawls through the small intestine
Three key points
- MIT reported a snake-inspired soft robotic enteroscope for the small intestine in Science Robotics.
- It carries a camera, a drug sprayer and biopsy clips, and uses kirigami sleeves for traction.
- 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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