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Soft Robots for Intestinal Applications: A Review on Actuation, Materials, Manufacture and Applications
Xuemei Xu1, Fei Liu1, Gongxin Li1
1Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry (Ministry of Education), Institute of Automation, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
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.
