Nan Kewang, Babaee Sahab, Chan Walter W, Kuosmanen Johannes L P, Feig Vivian R, Luo Yiyue, Srinivasan Shriya S, Patterson Christina M, Jebran Ahmad Mujtaba, Traverso Giovanni
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Nat Biomed Eng. 2022 Oct;6(10):1092-1104. doi: 10.1038/s41551-022-00859-5. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
The evaluation of the tone and contractile patterns of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract via manometry is essential for the diagnosis of GI motility disorders. However, manometry is expensive and relies on complex and bulky instrumentation. Here we report the development and performance of an inexpensive and easy-to-manufacture catheter-like device for capturing manometric data across the dynamic range observed in the human GI tract. The device, which we designed to resemble the quipu-knotted strings used by Andean civilizations for the capture and transmission of information-consists of knotted piezoresistive pressure sensors made by infusing a liquid metal (eutectic gallium-indium) through thin silicone tubing. By exploring a range of knotting configurations, we identified optimal design schemes that led to sensing performances comparable to those of commercial devices for GI manometry, as we show for the sensing of GI motility in multiple anatomic sites of the GI tract of anaesthetized pigs. Disposable and customizable piezoresistive catheters may broaden the use of GI manometry in low-resource settings.
通过测压法评估胃肠道（GI）的张力和收缩模式对于诊断胃肠动力障碍至关重要。然而，测压法成本高昂，且依赖复杂笨重的仪器设备。在此，我们报告了一种廉价且易于制造的导管样装置的开发及性能，该装置可在人类胃肠道观察到的动态范围内采集测压数据。我们设计的该装置类似于安第斯文明用于信息采集和传递的结绳记事——由通过细硅胶管注入液态金属（共晶镓铟）制成的结式压阻压力传感器组成。通过探索一系列打结配置，我们确定了最佳设计方案，其传感性能与用于胃肠测压的商业设备相当，正如我们在麻醉猪胃肠道多个解剖部位的胃肠动力传感中所展示的那样。一次性且可定制的压阻导管可能会扩大胃肠测压法在资源匮乏环境中的应用。
