Congratulations to Dr Hasan Shaheed, Dr Mohamed Adhnan Thaha, and Dr Julius Bernth on being granted their European patent for CE-Move, an innovative locomotion system for capsule endoscopes.

Today’s capsule endoscopes are little more than pills, swallowed like any other pill. Once swallowed, the only movement comes from gravity and your own body – both of which are a one-way system!

CE-Move uses electromagnetic principles to produce motion. An electromagnetic coil slides forward around a rail to create an impact force, propelling it forwards.

Everything is contained within the capsule itself, so it keeps its streamlined shape. There are no legs, wheels, tracks, propellors or any other external mechanisms which could get stuck, break off or damage tissues.

CE-Move will be the sister-spinout of CE-Track, an intelligent tracking system for locating the capsule. When used together, the two technologies give clinicians complete control over the capsule endoscope.

No longer merely a passive pill, these innovations represent a new generation of medical robots which could one day perform treatment as well as diagnostics inside the bowel.