Patent ID: 11931013
Assignee: UNIVERSITE GRENOBLE ALPES
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A capsule configured for collecting samples in the intestine, comprising a body comprising at least one compartment for receiving samples,
wherein the body comprises a limited configuration and a deployed configuration,
wherein in the limited configuration, the body is totally or paritally surrounded by a material which is dissolvable in the intestine, and the body is limited in two orthogonal directions perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the body by the material, the body is deployed to reach the deployed configuration in response to the material being dissolved,
the body further comprising at least one opening for sample intake, and a mobile mechanism for opening and closing the at least one opening, the deployment of the body and an actuation of the mobile mechanism being controlled by the dissolution of the material,
wherein the body further comprising a device and a flexible and elastic sealed membrane, the device being located inside the flexible and elastic sealed membrane, and the device and the flexible and elastic sealed membrane being two distinct elements,
wherein the device is a shape memory cage, the shape memory cage comprising a mesh structure surrounded by the flexible and elastic sealed membrane, and wherein, in the limited configuration, the mesh structure of the shape memory cage is in a cylindrical shape oriented along the central longitudinal axis and, in the deployed configuration, the mesh structure of the shape memory cage is deployed, at least radially along the two orthogonal directions, to form an ovoid shape, in order to deploy the flexible and elastic sealed membrane and give to the body an ovoid shape.