CUHK and ETH Zurich perform in vivo teleoperated magnetic endoscopy

The robot platform used in the study is installed at CUHK’s Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Centre.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s (CUHK) Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) have conducted an in vivo teleoperated magnetic endoscopy on a porcine model.

The robotic platform used in the study is installed at the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Centre (MRC), one of CUHK's InnoHK centres

Both parties used a bedside server computer that established wired communication with Navion, a portable magnetic navigation system, a magnetic endoscope and the robotic system.

The procedure involved an operator in Zurich controlling the endoscope in Hong Kong from their local computer whilst monitoring the video feed.

“Post-operative X-ray imaging showed that the endoscope achieved full retroflexion within the model stomach, meaning it was able to perform a U-turn,” CUHK said.

The study’s details have been published in Advanced Intelligent Systems, demonstrating the capabilities of teleoperated magnetic endoscopy in performing procedures such as stomach biopsies.