How you could see inside your body — with a micro-robot | Alex Luebke and Vivek Kumbhari

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: What if there was a new tool that could promise more precision and accuracy in diagnosing future ailments?

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And all you have to do is swallow it.

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: This is TED Tech, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective.

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Sherelle Dorsey.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Today we'll learn about a robot tablet that could define the future of medicine.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This little pill could eliminate the time and costs of exploratory operations in order to get right to the issues at hand taking place in the human body.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: In this talk, engineer Alex Luebke and physician-scientist Vivek Kumbhari demonstrate how a remote operated pill could change the face of medicine.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's listen in, but first, a quick break to hear from our sponsors.

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[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And now, Alex Luebke and physician-scientist Vivek Kumbhari takes the TED stage.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I'd like to invite you to go on a fantastic voyage with me today as we explore inside the human body.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Inside each and every one of us holds mysteries and wonders that if unlocked leads to better health, performance, and longevity.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_02]: But seeing inside has proven to be quite difficult.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Since the beginning of the modern era, the only way to really look inside was through rudimentary surgeries.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Over the past 150 years or so, we've had great technologies that allow us to look from the outside like x-rays and MRIs.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_02]: But what I propose and what I'd like us to explore today is looking at micro robotics inside the human body.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_02]: As a first step on that journey, let me introduce you to Pillbot.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Pillbot is a small wireless robot that is remotely controlled and it swims around in three dimensions in a water-filled human stomach.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_02]: This robot has things you would expect on a robot.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_02]: It has a camera so it gives you a live video feed.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_02]: It has control circuitry.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_02]: It has LED lights because inside the human body is quite dark.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_02]: It has a wireless data link and it has a battery.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Now the way this robot moves is it has three pump jet thrusters that squirt water in six different directions

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_02]: that allow the Pillbot to fly around in three-dimensional space in a water volume.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Over the past five years, we've spent a lot of time to get the size of this robot smaller and smaller.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_02]: What we started with wasn't quite, not quite swallowable.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_02]: But we finally worked our way down and where we are these days is about the size of a small multivitamin capsule.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Now we're going to fly this robot around for you for a little bit, but to do that I'd like to invite Dr. Vivek Kumbari.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_02]: He's the chairman of gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic and I'd like to have him pilot this Pillbot while I turn it on.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's a common scenario I encounter in my clinic.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_01]: A patient who's generally in good health comes to see me because they have abdominal pain and I suspect it's coming from the stomach.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Now I need to understand precisely what the problem is, but I can't just pop my head in and take a look.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So, and despite that patient sitting right in front of me, I need to ask them to go back home and come back to the hospital on another occasion.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So I can put them to sleep with anesthesia so that they allow me to insert this long tube with the camera at the tip through the mouth and into the stomach.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_01]: This is an endoscopy and it's a relatively invasive and expensive procedure and we're on a mission to do better.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_01]: We'd like to transform this experience by dematerializing the physical hospital into Pillbot.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm using a game controller to navigate Pillbot, although I could have also used a tablet or a smartphone.

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_01]: We can move around rather quickly here and you can imagine that using the tank this size, we're still able to navigate the entire experience.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And this tank is significantly larger than the human stomach or any internal human organ for that matter.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So we developed Pillbot to allow for direct visualization of internal organs anywhere and anytime,

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_01]: whether you're at home sitting on your couch, visiting space or right here on stage at TED.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_01]: What do you think Alex? Should we go ahead and swallow Pillbot?

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_01]: In just a few seconds, Pillbot entered the stomach.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_01]: So we're in the stomach now and I'm carefully navigating around, looking for any changes in surface architecture

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_01]: that might represent an ulcer or a cancer or any other pathology.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm able to get very similar views as I would if I'd use a conventional endoscope.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm able to see the entire stomach and revisit sites that pique my curiosity.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Now what could further improve this experience is if we use an augmented reality headset for 3D visualization of a stomach

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_01]: or artificial intelligence for detection and characterization of an abnormality.

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Now fortunately for Alex, on this brief review, everything's looking normal here.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_01]: So if there were a problem, being able to show and discuss with Alex in real time

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_01]: elevates his understanding of his health and is going to make him more compliant with therapy.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So now that we're done here, Pillbot will take its natural course through and out the body.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Unfortunately for Alex, he'll have no awareness of this and he won't have to retrieve this capsule.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Now this robot was designed for the stomach, though the entire body needs this capability.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Parts of the body such as the colon, the heart and the brain should be made accessible with specialized robots that are just as easy to use.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_01]: I've dreamt of the day when I could explore the inside of the human body with robots,

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_01]: recognizing it would be an inflection point in my ability to help people live longer and healthier lives.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Back to you, Alex.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_02]: That was yummy.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_02]: And no, you don't feel anything when the robot moves around inside you. It's quite simple.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_02]: But think of that, how easy it was to get access to internal imagery anywhere.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's going to allow us not only internal imagery, but also the diagnosis and the treatment that the doctor might be able to give.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_02]: That's going to give us access to a vast amount of information that we can then use to train AI.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And with AI, we're going to be able to have it automate a whole variety of different functions from performance improvement of the robot itself

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_02]: to autonomous control, where it actually flies around and maps out the entire interior surface of the stomach all on its own.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_02]: That diagnosis and the treatment also comes along with that.

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_02]: We train AI to help learn how to do that and eventually interventions.

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's talk about a little bit where we want to go next.

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_02]: So the first thing we're going to do, we'll add some accelerometers on there so it actually helps with that autonomous control.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Also very interesting, we can start adding different sensors.

[00:09:02] [SPEAKER_02]: So wherever the robot is going, we can go ahead and measure the health of what it's looking at right there.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And as far as doing lab on chip capabilities where you can actually analyze the material right there in situ on the robot.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Imagine now being able to put different tools onto this where you can cut and you can cauterize or inject medicine.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, now you have a pill surgeon.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And of course, you can have clusters of these robots that work together in unison to do complex procedures inside the human body.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_02]: To go even smaller, we actually have technology that exists today that allows us to make robots at the nano scale,

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_02]: which now can bring robots anywhere in the human body, even into the human brain.

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And there's some phenomenal power sources that are available coming online as well.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_02]: While Pillbot is just about to go through clinical trials, it'll be a couple years till it's on the market.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a long way to go. We still have to bring the full ability to do inner space exploration on us all.

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's a worthwhile journey to go on.

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Imagine being able to have all this information for you, for your health, for your family and for humanity.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'd like to invite all of you to join us in being brave and let's bring micro robots inside the human body.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you very much.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_00]: That was Alex Luque and physician scientist Vivek Kumbari at TED 2024.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_00]: The Pillbot technology is an exciting advancement in the realm of precision medicine,

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_00]: a discipline within medicine that has been emerging to tailor treatment based on a variety of factors specific to patients.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_00]: This personalized approach takes genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors into account.

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_00]: The goal is to get more accurate diagnoses, effective therapies and reduce side effects, significantly improving patient outcomes.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Pillbot's ability to see without the need for invasive surgeries and even the promise of delivering medicine through the device seems like a game changer in medical technology.

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_00]: By offering real time internal imaging and precise drug delivery, devices like this could revolutionize how we approach complex medical conditions.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_00]: They could allow for earlier detection and intervention, minimizing the need for more invasive procedures and potentially reducing recovery times.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: The integration of AI and machine algorithms with these kinds of devices could enhance their diagnostic capabilities, providing physicians with detailed insights and predictive analytics.

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_00]: This innovation holds the potential to not only improve individual patient care,

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_00]: but also to transform the health care system by making treatments more efficient and personalized.

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's it for today.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_00]: TED Tech is part of the TED Audio Collective.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_00]: This episode was produced by Nina Byrd Lawrence, edited by Alejandra Salazar and fact check by Julia Dickerson.

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Special thanks to Maria Ladias, Farrah Degrunge, Daniela Belarezo and Roxanne Hiles.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Sherrell Dorsey. Thanks for listening in.