Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2022

Collecting Microbiota Samples: Breaking the Wall of Gut Sampling

Muhammad Rehan

Emerging Talents Global Call Winner

Given the limitations of existing tools in collecting a sample of microbiota from the gut, Muhammad Rehan came up with the idea of developing a robotic capsule, a game-changer in gut health analysis.

Muhammad Rehan

Massey University

Rehan is an engineering graduate, originally from Pakistan, pursuing a PhD in microrobotics at Massey University, New Zealand. He is working on developing a robotic capsule that can collect samples of microbiota (microorganisms or bacteria) and digestive fluids along the full length of the gut. He has developed a working prototype of a robotic capsule and tested it on alive post-mortem intestinal tissue. The laboratory results were promising that provided a proof-of-concept for the developed prototype. Currently, he is preparing for in-vivo testing in live animals, a step before human trials.