California Medical Innovations Institute, San Diego, CA, United States of America.
School of Microelectronics and Communication Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
Physiol Meas. 2021 Jun 29;42(6). doi: 10.1088/1361-6579/ac023c.
Biomechatronics (bionics) is an applied science that is interdisciplinary between biology and engineering (mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering). Biomechatronics covers a wide area and is probably best known in development of prosthetic limbs, vision aids, robotics and neuroscience. Although the gastrointestinal tract is difficult to study, it is particularly suited for a bionics approach as demonstrated by recent developments. Ingestible capsules that travel the tract and record physiological variables have been used in the clinic. Other examples include sacral nerve stimulators that seek to restore normal anorectal function. Recently, we developed a simulated stool termed fecobionics. It has the shape of normal stool and records a variety of parameters including pressures, bending (anorectal angle) and shape changes during colonic transit and defecation, i.e. it integrates several current tests. Fecobionics has been used to study defecation patterns in large animals as well as in humans (normal subjects and patient groups including patients with symptoms of obstructed defecation and fecal incontinence). Recently, it was applied in a canine colon model where it revealed patterns consistent with shallow waves originating from slow waves generated by the interstitial cells of Cajal. Furthermore, novel analysis such as the rear-front pressure (preload-afterload) diagram and quantification of defecation indices have been developed that enable mechanistic insight. This paper reviews the fecobionics technology and outlines perspectives for future applications.
生物机电学（仿生学）是一门应用科学，它是生物学和工程学（机械、电子和电气工程）之间的交叉学科。生物机电学涵盖了广泛的领域，在假肢、视力辅助、机器人技术和神经科学的发展方面最为人所知。尽管胃肠道很难研究，但正如最近的发展所表明的那样，它特别适合仿生学方法。在临床上已经使用了在消化道中移动并记录生理变量的可食用胶囊。其他例子包括骶神经刺激器，旨在恢复正常的肛肠功能。最近，我们开发了一种称为粪仿生学的模拟粪便。它具有正常粪便的形状，并记录了各种参数，包括压力、弯曲（肛肠角度）和在结肠传输和排便过程中的形状变化，即它整合了几种当前的测试。粪仿生学已被用于研究大动物以及人类（正常受试者和患者群体，包括有排便障碍和粪便失禁症状的患者）的排便模式。最近，它被应用于犬科结肠模型，该模型显示的模式与源自 Cajal 间质细胞产生的慢波的浅层波一致。此外，还开发了新型分析方法，如前后压力（预加载-后加载）图和排便指数的量化，从而提供了对机制的深入了解。本文综述了粪仿生学技术，并概述了未来应用的前景。
