# A Soft Robotic Sleeve to Enable Safer and Easier Colonoscopy Procedures

> **NIH NIH R21** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2020 · $682,685

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Current flexible endoscopes have limited dexterity and sensor feedback, making navigation in colonoscopy a
challenging task. These technical limitations make screening procedures poorly tolerated by patients, leading to
low rates of compliance with screening guidelines and/or incomplete colonoscopy, that is associated with higher
rates of interval proximal colon cancer.
Alternative engineering solutions have been proposed for robotically-assisted colonoscopy, which are based on
cable-driven mechanisms, motorized spiral colonoscopy, or pneumatic systems. However, a major drawback of
such approaches is uncontrollability of the tension to the colon wall caused by the lack of tactile feedback to the
endoscopists.
The overall goal of this proposal is to advance current navigation capabilities of endoscopic platforms to enhance
diagnosis and therapy. This project aims at exploring the use of a soft robotic sleeve that can be wrapped around
current endoscopic instrumentation to provide sensor feedback and actuation capabilities that can improve
navigation in colonoscopy, avoiding the necessity for dedicated or customized instruments and without disrupting
the current surgical workflow. Furthermore, we propose to integrate bleeding detection and coagulation
capabilities in the device by merging soft robotics and microfluidic technologies to effectively perform
intraoperative diagnosis and therapy, enabling surgeons to modify their approaches at the time of surgery and
decide on further plan of management. Distributed soft optical sensors will monitor the pressure exerted by the
colonoscope onto tissue during navigation and if excessive pressure is detected, the soft actuators will be inflated
to guarantee pressure redistribution and aid navigation, while safely anchoring, stabilizing, and reorienting the
motion of the colonoscope in comparison with standard endoscopic systems. This device will be manufactured
using biocompatible soft elastomers and gels exploiting advanced manufacturing techniques, such as laser
precision micromachining, replica-based micro fabrication techniques, and multi-layer lamination through
chemical surface modification.
The Investigative Team, combining engineering and clinical faculty from Boston University (Mechanical
Engineering Department) and Harvard University (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), is uniquely positioned to
achieve the success of this study. Specifically, the Investigators collectively possess expertise in endoscopic
device design, clinical colonoscopy, and assessment and validation of innovative gastrointestinal technologies.
We hypothesize that this soft robotic sleeve will provide the superior ability to perform endoscopic navigation
inside body cavities (i.e., the intestine) in a safer, easier, and smoother way.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876723
- **Project number:** 1R21EB029154-01
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Hiroyuki Aihara
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $682,685
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-18 → 2024-09-17

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876723

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876723, A Soft Robotic Sleeve to Enable Safer and Easier Colonoscopy Procedures (1R21EB029154-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876723. Licensed CC0.

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