Ingestible Origami Robot Removes Swallowed Batteries

May-16-16 A tiny origami robot able to remove swallowed button batteries from the stomach wall could make it easier to remove the batteries before they can do damage.

The origami bot is built on previous work in the field, and is made up of a series of accordion folds, with a magnet embedded in the center of one of the folds. The robot was designed to be compressed into a capsule that can be swallowed, where it will travel to the stomach and unfold into a rectangle. The bot can be guided to location via a magnetic field outside the body, where it was able to remove a battery embedded in the lining of a synthetic stomach.

More than 3500 cases of swallowed button batteries are reported each year.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[NEWS.MIT.EDU]

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