Swallowable robot with thrusters performs endoscopy at home

Aiming to advance the field of telemedicine, a swallowable robotic pill developed by a startup has moved into clinical trials.

Developed by Endiatx, PillBot is a remote-controlled digestible robotic mini-camera that can eliminate the need for invasive medical procedures.

Pillbot is intended to be a virtual endoscope or “moving eyeball in the stomach.” Thanks to its pump thrusters, the robot, the size of a pistachio, moves like a multicopter drone.

California-based Endiatx says this pill-shaped camera allows patients to consult with top gastroenterologists around the world from the comfort of their own home.

“We are currently conducting clinical trials with our robot pill technology. We will begin pivotal trials at a leading US medical institution in the third and fourth quarter,” Torrey Smith, CEO of Endiatx, told Venturebeat.

Advancing telemedicine

Many cases of stomach cancer – 11,000 in the United States and 800,000 worldwide – are diagnosed too late for effective medical intervention. Traditional upper endoscopy (EGD) is not performed there due to overbooked staff and facilities.

Since its founding in 2019, Endiatx has worked to make the concept of miniaturized robots navigating the human body a reality for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Their pioneering product, the PillBot, is an ingestible robotic capsule. Equipped with cameras, sensors and wireless communication technology, the PillBot allows doctors to examine the gastrointestinal tract with exceptional precision and control.

According to its creators, PillBot will save lives while easing pressure on healthcare facilities and enabling stomach cancer screening via telemedicine for people with limited access to hospitals.

It will also allow gastrointestinal specialists to treat a larger number of patients. Endiatx claims that with PillBot, telemedicine will significantly advance and everyone will have equitable access to life-saving technology.

Innovative remote diagnosis

The world’s first motorized telemedicine pill camera allows doctors to quickly view the inside of the stomach during a telemedicine session, replacing upper endoscopy (EGD).

PillBot, which is about the size of a multivitamin pill, can move freely through the stomach using its pump thrusters. The user swallows PillBot while awake and has nothing to prepare other than skipping meals and drinking plenty of water.

The current prototype, measuring just 13mm by 30mm, boasts impressive capabilities. “It can transmit high-resolution video at 2.3 megapixels per second, and we plan to quadruple that video quality soon,” Smith told VentureBeat.

Using a smartphone application, the doctor remotely controls the robot in the patient’s stomach. PillBot shuts down and leaves the body naturally within six to twenty-four hours. Additionally, the team is working on using AI to make a preliminary diagnosis, after which a doctor will create a therapeutic treatment.

Smith envisions a future in which PillBot, which currently requires manual control by doctors for camera movements and operations, becomes fully autonomous through AI guidance. This breakthrough could expand its reach and potentially save many lives by detecting and treating gastrointestinal problems early.

The team plans to expand the technology to examine the intestines, vascular system, heart, liver, brain and other parts of the body. Ultimately, they hope this will allow hospitals to focus on more urgent medical care and surgeries.

While clinical trials are ongoing, the company aims to obtain FDA approval and commercially launch its product in the United States by early 2026.