Colonoscopy is common procedure frequently carried out. It is not without its problems, which include looping formation. Looping formation prevents the tip of the colonoscope itself from advancing, thus further probing induces a risk of perforation, significant patient discomfort, and failure of colonoscopy. During colonoscopy, the manipulated colonoscope for intubation in the colon goes through the friction between the colonoscope and the colon. Due to major frictional force, the sigmoidal colon forms looping with the scope during intubation. The interactive frictional force between the colon and the colonoscope is highly complex because of frictional contact between two deformable objects. In this paper, contact force computation was formulated into a linear complementarity problem (LCP) by linearizing Signorini's problem, which was adapted into non-interpenetration with unilateral constraints. Frictional force was computed by the mechanical compliance of finite element method (FEM) models with the consideration of dynamic friction between the colonoscope and the intestinal wall. Furthermore, we presented a mathematical model of the elongation of the colon that predicts the motion of scope relative to the intestinal wall in colonoscopy.
Dynamics of Multi-body Mechanical Systems with Unilateral Constraints and Impacts
