Abstract
This Chapter describes the development of a new microrobotic system for colonoscopy. The project aims to investigate and exploit an innovative concept for endoscopy in the lower gastrointestinal tract. Colonoscopy is important since cancer of the colon and of the rectum is the second most malignant tumor in industrialised countries. Today endoscopic procedures subject patients to significantly less trauma than conventional surgery, but with present instrumentation colonoscopy is in many cases an unpleasant and painful procedure. The microrobot we have fabricated is able to propel itself in the colon is a semi-autonomous manner by inchworm locomotion obtained by means of pneumatic actuators controlled by shape memory alloy (SMA) microvalves. In this Chapter, the architecture of the microrobot, the propelling principle, the design and the fabrication of the SMA microvalves are illustrated.
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