On the Swimming of a "Pod "

A "pod" is a medical device consisting of a small hollow magnetattached to a plastic "tail". If it is placed in a blood vesselof a patient, and an alternating magnetic field applied, themagnet oscillates angularly and the plastic tail causes it toswim. The purpose of the device is to deliver medicaments, whichmay have been placed in the hollow magnet, or perform othertasks at any desired location in the main circulatory system.This paper seeks to analyse the swimming process and suggestdesign characteristics for efficient swimming. The analysis can also be regarded as a contribution to the generaltheory of swimming of elastic bodies excited by an externalforce.