Soft Robots for Intestinal Applications: A Review on Actuation, Materials, Manufacture and Applications.

BACKGROUND

Soft robots utilised for intestinal diagnosis and therapy use, compliant materials and novel actuation were employed to address the limitations of rigid endoscopic tools.

METHODS

This paper systematically reviewed the literature (2000-present) on robotic systems explicitly developed for intestinal applications, organising findings across actuation, materials, fabrication and clinical use. Ethical approval: Not applicable because this study is a literature review and involved no human participants or animal experiments.

RESULTS

Fluidic, shape-memory alloy, electroactive polymer and magnetic actuation strategies were classified and compared by operating principles, advantages and limitations. Common material platforms (e.g., silicones and hydrogels) were analysed for flexibility, biocompatibility, responsiveness and fabrication methods (casting, 3D printing and shape deposition manufacturing) and were assessed for producing functional, complex structures. Applications clustered around examination, targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive interventions, with designs grouped by function and morphology.

CONCLUSIONS

Intestinal constraints (peristalsis, variable lumen geometry and biosafety) remain key barriers; interdisciplinary integration is central to clinical translation.