The exploration of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has brought considerable interest in
magnetic anchoring of intracorporeal tools. Magnetic anchoring and guidance system (MAGS) is the concept of
anchoring miniature in-vivo tools and device to the parietal peritoneum by coupling with an external magnetic holder
module placed on the skin surface. MAGS has been shown to be effective in anchoring passive tools such as in-vivo
cameras or tissue retractors. The strength of the magnetic field and magnet configurations employed depends on the size,
shape and weight of the in-vivo tools, the coupling distance between internal and external modules, and physiological
concerns such as tool interaction and tissue ischemia. This paper presents our effort to develop a better understanding of
the coupling dynamic between a small in-vivo robot designed for tissue manipulation, and an external MAGS handle
used to position the in-vivo robot. An electromagnetic simulation software (Vizimag 3.19) was used to simulate
coupling forces between a two-magnet configuration of the MAGS handle. A prototype model of the in-vivo robot and a
two-magnet configuration of a MAGS handle were fabricated. Based on this study, we were able to identify an optimal
design solution for a MAGS module given the mechanical constraints of the internal module design.
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