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Tiny robot eases pain of colon cancer diagnosis

Published on 09 May 2017 back to previous

A small robot has performed complex manoeuvres inside the colon in an advance that scientists hope could make colonoscopies less unpleasant and lead to more people undergoing them, so catching cancer at an early stage.

Although colonoscopies are crucial in diagnosing colon cancer, many people avoid them, putting their health in jeopardy, because the instruments have to be pushed via the rectum.

The micro-robot is designed to remedy that. Some 18mm long, it is instead pulled using magnets. Scientists said they managed to navigate it through a pig’s colon without incident and performed a complex “retroflexion” movement, in which it reverses to look behind it.

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This article was sourced from The Times Online.