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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Dec 29.
Published in final edited form as: Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2023 Dec 29;20(12):1801–1822. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2023.2291450

Figure 6. Untethered shape-changing therapeutic and diagnostic devices.

Figure 6.

A. Therapeutic devices: (i). Photograph of a pangolin-inspired shape-changing microrobot that moves on an intestinal wall controlled by a low-frequency magnetic field. The microrobot produces heat under a high-frequency magnetic field for mitigating bleeding and tumor hyperthermia. Adapted from [162] with permission under CC BY 4.0. Copyright © 2023, Springer Nature. (ii). Photograph of a wireless capsule endoscope treating a GI hemorrhage by balloon tamponade-induced hemostasis using a gas-inflated balloon. Adapted from [163] with permission. Copyright © 2017, IEEE. (iii). Photograph of Elipse® balloon before inflation (left) and after inflation (right) for bariatric obesity control. Adapted from [182] with permission under CC BY 4.0. Copyright © 2017, Springer Nature. (iv). Photograph of a WallFlex® duodenal stent for palliative treatment of malignant gastric outlet obstruction. Adapted from [172] with permission. Copyright © 2009, Elsevier. (v). Photograph of a self-orienting injection and electrostimulation (STIMS) that injects electrode probes into the gastric wall and treats gastric motility disorders. Adapted from [195] with permission under CC BY 4.0. Copyright © 2020, AAAS. B. Diagnostic devices: (i). Photo of magnetic anchoring endoscope capsule for site-specific imaging. Adapted from [80] with permission. Copyright © 2019, IEEE. (ii). Photo of a 3D-printed capsule with a Y-shaped unfolding arm for gastric retentive temperature sensing. Adapted from [113] with permission. Copyright © 2019, Wiley. (iii). Photos of wireless miniature soft robots that change shapes to sense pH and viscoelasticity of GI tissues. Adapted from [208] with permission under CC BY 4.0. Copyright © 2023, AAAS. (iv). Photos of magnetically actuated soft capsule endoscope for fine-needle biopsy, needle retracted (top), and needle exposed (bottom). Adapted from [58] with permission. Copyright © 2017, IEEE. (v). Photo of a self-folding biopsy μ-gripper gripping a piece of stained bile duct tissue. Adapted from [44] with permission. Copyright © 2013, Wiley.