US Patent 8187166 Minimally invasive medical system employing a magnetically controlled endo-robot

A system for the implementation of minimally invasive diagnoses and interventions in the inside of the body of a patient has an endo-robot that has a linear magnet and carries measurement instruments and/or instruments for taking specimens and/or for treatment. The endo-robot is freely mobile within the body of a patient. A magnet system accepts the examination region of the patient and generates a 3D gradient field for remotely-controls movement and orientation of the endo-robot in the patient's body by interaction with the linear magnet.