Oribron: An Origami-Inspired Deformable Rigid Bronchoscope for Radial Support

Abstract

The structure of a traditional rigid bronchoscope includes proximal, distal, and body, representing an important means to treat hypoxic diseases. However, the body structure is too simple, resulting in the utilization rate of oxygen being usually low. In this work, we reported a deformable rigid bronchoscope (named Oribron) by adding a Waterbomb origami structure to the body. The Waterbomb’s backbone is made of films, and the pneumatic actuators are placed inside it to achieve rapid deformation at low pressure. Experiments showed that Waterbomb has a unique deformation mechanism, which can transform from a small-diameter configuration (#1) to a large-diameter configuration (#2), showing excellent radial support capability. When Oribron entered or left the trachea, the Waterbomb remained in #1. When Oribron is working, the Waterbomb transforms from #1 to #2. Since #2 reduces the gap between the bronchoscope and the tracheal wall, it effectively slows down the rate of oxygen loss, thus promoting the absorption of oxygen by the patient. Therefore, we believe that this work will provide a new strategy for the integrated development of origami and medical devices.