The vibro-impact capsule system has been studied extensively in the past decade because of its research challenges as a piecewise-smooth dynamical system and broad applications in engineering and healthcare technologies. This paper reports our team’s first attempt to scale down the prototype of the vibro-impact capsule to millimetre size, which is 26 mm in length and 11 mm in diameter, aiming for small-bowel endoscopy. Firstly, an existing mathematical model of the prototype and its mathematical formulation as a piecewise-smooth dynamical system are reviewed in order to carry out numerical optimisation for the prototype by means of path-following techniques. Our numerical analysis shows that the prototype can achieve a high progression speed up to 14.4 mm/s while avoiding the collision between the inner mass and the capsule which could lead to less propulsive force on the capsule so causing less discomfort on the patient. Secondly, the experimental rig and procedure for testing the prototype are introduced, and some preliminary experimental results are presented. Finally, experimental results are compared with the numerical results to validate the optimisation as well as the feasibility of the vibro-impact technique for the potential of a controllable endoscopic procedure.

中文翻译：

---

毫米级振动冲击胶囊系统：数值优化和实验验证

振动冲击胶囊系统在过去十年中得到了广泛的研究，因为其作为分段平滑动力系统的研究挑战以及在工程和医疗保健技术中的广泛应用。这篇论文报告了我们团队首次尝试将振动冲击胶囊的原型缩小到毫米尺寸，其长度为 26 毫米，直径为 11 毫米，旨在用于小肠内窥镜检查。首先，回顾了原型的现有数学模型及其作为分段光滑动力系统的数学公式，以通过路径跟踪技术对原型进行数值优化。我们的数值分析表明，原型可以实现高达 14 的高进展速度。4 毫米/秒，同时避免内部质量和胶囊之间的碰撞，这可能导致胶囊上的推进力较小，从而减少患者的不适。其次，介绍了样机的实验装置和测试程序，并给出了一些初步的实验结果。最后，将实验结果与数值结果进行比较，以验证优化以及振动冲击技术对于可控内窥镜手术潜力的可行性。