| Summary: | Recent progress in advanced surgical technology has been towards smaller devices enabling complex procedures to be performed via ever less invasive routes of entry. The ultimate extrapolation of this is the complete internalisation of surgical tools, integrating the benefits of a minimally invasive approach with the freedom of access and visualisation associated with open surgery. Although steps have been made towards the realisation of such 'intra- corporeal' robotics, an independently mobile internal device has not yet been demonstrated. This thesis constitutes the first step in the delivery of a fully internalised surgical device capable of free navigation within the peritoneal cavity. The first essential function of such a device is that it must adhere reliably to the peritoneal lining without causing mechanical or chemical damage. An adhesion mechanism able to harness local surface effects and inspired by attachment systems found on the feet of climbing reptile and insect species in nature is proposed. This type of biomimetic adhesion to internal body surfaces has yet to be demonstrated, and presents a significant engineering challenge given the complexity of the peritoneal surface. However, within this thesis a repeatable methodology is developed, using a range of micro- and nano- structured polymer surfaces, to assess the mechanisms of adhesion available in this environment and how they may be exploited. The test surfaces include a new micro-pillar surface, designed and fabricated specifically for the purposes of the research. Analyses of the peritoneal surface, the polymer topography and the physical processes that occur when they are brought into contact have been combined to provide an improved understanding of wet adhesion at a soft, biological interface. As a result of the new findings within the thesis, the first step in the design of an intra-peritoneal surgical device has been made.
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