Wave of the future?
Instead of pushing an endoscope through the colon, researchers now are developing endoscopes that can pull themselves . . .
. . . The main challenge to building such devices involves clutching onto the slippery walls of the colon in a way that does not damage them.
Dodou and her colleagues have found sticky films called mucoadhesives that could help such devices find the traction they need by sticking onto the mucus lining colon walls. These adhesives already find use in techniques for delivering medicines into the body.
