Capsule Endoscopy of the Future: What's on the Horizon?
Overview
Affiliations
Capsule endoscopes have evolved from passively moving diagnostic devices to actively moving systems with potential therapeutic capability. In this review, we will discuss the state of the art, define the current shortcomings of capsule endoscopy, and address research areas that aim to overcome said shortcomings. Developments in capsule mobility schemes are emphasized in this text, with magnetic actuation being the most promising endeavor. Research groups are working to integrate sensor data and fuse it with robotic control to outperform today's standard invasive procedures, but in a less intrusive manner. With recent advances in areas such as mobility, drug delivery, and therapeutics, we foresee a translation of interventional capsule technology from the bench-top to the clinical setting within the next 10 years.
Sun Q, Wang X, Li D, Li B, Tu X, Jiang Z World J Gastroenterol. 2025; 31(4):100718.
PMID: 39877708 PMC: 11718635. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i4.100718.
Hicheri C, Azimuddin A, Kortum A, Bailey J, Tang Y, Schwarz R Bioengineering (Basel). 2024; 11(6.
PMID: 38927792 PMC: 11200367. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11060557.
Winters C, Subramanian V, Valdastri P World J Gastroenterol. 2022; 28(35):5093-5110.
PMID: 36188716 PMC: 9516669. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i35.5093.
Endoscopic capsule robot-based diagnosis, navigation and localization in the gastrointestinal tract.
Hanscom M, Cave D Front Robot AI. 2022; 9:896028.
PMID: 36119725 PMC: 9479458. DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.896028.
Zhu J, Qian Y, Pan J, He C, Lan Y, Chen W EClinicalMedicine. 2022; 47:101407.
PMID: 35518121 PMC: 9062239. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101407.