| Colonoscopy is an important procedure for identifying and diagnosing various pathologies, particularly colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in 2008. The current standard colonoscopy system is often painful for the patient and complex for the gastroenterologist. To address these issues, a new colonoscopy system is proposed that is designed to reduce patient discomfort and simplify the task of performing colonoscopies. The new system consists of a semi-autonomous robot that is able to navigate through the colon in order to inspect the lumen.;This thesis will present a suite of tools that can be used to design, fabricate, and test the robotic colonoscopy system. By examining past locomotion techniques through an extensive literature review, a new mode of locomotion has been developed specifically for this system. Human factors tools are used to gain a better understanding of the gastroenterologist's tasks and to determine a set of functional and informational requirements to support the completion of a successful colonoscopy. The design, fabrication, and testing of the robot's locomotion will be also described. To verify its locomotive effectiveness, a colon model testbed is also developed. These requirements are then used to develop a user-centered graphical user interface and control device to allow the gastroenterologist to interact with the colonoscopy system. The user interface and control device can then be evaluated by the user through a mechanical simulator that is capable of replicating the robot's locomotion and functionality. The design and fabrication of this simulator are also discussed. |
