MIT Engineers Develop Soft Robot for Diagnosing and Treating Small Intestine Disorders
- Published
- Source
- MITNews
MIT engineers have created a new robotic enteroscope designed to navigate the small intestine, which is often challenging to access for diagnosis and treatment. This innovative robot can perform imaging, deliver medications, and remove polyps or tissue samples, inspired by the locomotion of snakes and featuring a textured coating for better traction.
The small intestine, measuring over 20 feet long, presents significant difficulties for medical professionals when diagnosing conditions such as bleeding, lesions, and blockages. Current methods, like double balloon enteroscopy, are slow and labor-intensive. The new robot aims to streamline this process, making it easier and faster to evaluate the intestine.
Giovanni Traverso, a professor at MIT and a gastroenterologist, emphasizes the need for more automated solutions in evaluating the small intestine. The robot's design includes multifunctional actuators that mimic snake-like movement, allowing for flexible navigation through the narrow intestinal tract. No further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication.
Original report
A soft robot could help doctors diagnose and treat disorders of the small intestine
MITNews · Anne Trafton | MIT NewsThis briefing is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting and is provided for industry information and news discovery. The original report and source publication are credited and linked where applicable. RobotToday does not claim ownership of third-party source material.
Rights concerns? Contact [email protected] with the relevant URL and details. We will review the matter and take appropriate action where warranted.
More related news
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
-
11
ROBOTTODAY Weekly October 19 – 23, 2026 RobotToday · 4 days ago
- 12
Related Suppliers
Biomimetic Robotics Lab, MIT
United States
MIT Mechanical Engineering lab led by Prof. Sangbae Kim that created the Cheetah 3 and backflipping Mini Cheetah quadrupeds and the MIT Humanoid.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc.
United States
Vernon Hills, Illinois factory-automation subsidiary of Japan's Mitsubishi Electric; sells MELFA robots, MELSEC PLCs, and CNC systems in North America.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation 三菱電機株式会社
Japan
Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment maker producing the MELFA series of industrial robots and comprehensive factory automation systems.
Agile Robotic Systems
United States
Agile Robotic Systems builds fenceless robotic loading systems for CNC machine tools, deployable on any machine without robot programming.
BizLink Robotic Solutions USA, Inc. 贸联控股股份有限公司
United States
Michigan robotics cable management and vision integrator; subsidiary of BizLink Holding (TWSE: 3665); first AIA Certified Systems Integrator globally.
Donut Robotics
Japan
Tokyo robot developer incorporated 2016; its cinnamon 1 humanoid stands about 170 cm, and care-home operator Charm Care is investing 300 million yen.
CRITT Automatisation & Robotique
France
CRITT Automatisation & Robotique is a 12-person tech transfer centre in Albi offering robot feasibility trials, special machines and Industry 4.0 support.
SquareMind
France
French medical robotics startup developing Swan, the world's first full-body dermoscopy robot combining a robotic arm, AI, and high-resolution imaging.
Noah Medical
United States
San Carlos, CA medical robotics company offering the Galaxy System, an FDA-cleared robotic bronchoscopy platform for early lung cancer diagnosis.
AiM Medical Robotics
United States
Worcester, MA neurosurgical robotics firm developing a portable MRI-compatible surgical robot for deep brain stimulation under real-time MRI guidance.
Convergence Medical Robotics
Australia
Developer of the V01, the world's first arthroscopic surgical robot, enabling precise robotic-assisted joint surgery.
Fikaxo Technology
United States
US-registered entity flagged by researchers and fined $25,000 by the FCC for allegedly selling rebranded DJI drones under its own and other brand names.
Robotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
Join the RobotToday community on LinkedIn
Daily robotics news, in-depth analysis, conference highlights, and discussions with professionals worldwide.
