Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, 206 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si 16499, Republic of Korea.
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, 22 Soonchunhyang-ro, Sinchang-myeon, Asan-si 31538, Republic of Korea.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Sep 2;24(17):5711. doi: 10.3390/s24175711.
Colonoscopy has a limited field of view because it relies solely on a small camera attached to the end of the scope and a screen displayed on a monitor. Consequently, the quality and safety of diagnosis and treatment depend on the experience and skills of the gastroenterologist. When a novice attempts to insert the colonoscope during the procedure, excessive pressure can sometimes be applied to the colon wall. This pressure can cause a medical accident known as colonic perforation, which the physician should prevent. We propose an assisting device that senses the pressure applied to the colon wall, analyzes the risk of perforation, and warns the physician in real time. Flexible pressure sensors are attached to the surface of the colonoscope shaft. These sensors measure pressure signals during a colonoscopy procedure. A simple signal processor is used to collect and process the pressure signals. In the experiment, a colonoscope equipped with the proposed device was inserted into a simulated colon made from a colon extracted from a pig. The processed data were visually communicated to the gastroenterologist via displays and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The device helps the physician continuously monitor and prevent excessive pressure on the colon wall. In this experiment, the device appropriately generated and delivered warnings to help the physicians prevent colonic perforation. In the future, the device is to be improved, and more experiments will be performed in live swine models or humans to confirm its efficacy and safety.
结肠镜检查的视野有限，因为它仅依赖于附在镜管末端的一个小摄像头和一个在监视器上显示的屏幕。因此，诊断和治疗的质量和安全性取决于胃肠病学家的经验和技能。当新手在操作过程中试图插入结肠镜时，有时会对结肠壁施加过大的压力。这种压力可能会导致一种称为结肠穿孔的医疗事故，医生应该预防这种事故。我们提出了一种辅助装置，它可以感知施加在结肠壁上的压力，分析穿孔的风险，并实时向医生发出警告。柔性压力传感器附在结肠镜管的表面。这些传感器在结肠镜检查过程中测量压力信号。使用简单的信号处理器来收集和处理压力信号。在实验中，将配备有该设备的结肠镜插入从猪身上取出的结肠制成的模拟结肠中。处理后的数据通过显示器和发光二极管（LED）直观地传达给胃肠病学家。该设备有助于医生持续监测并防止对结肠壁施加过大的压力。在这个实验中，该设备适当地发出和传递警告，帮助医生预防结肠穿孔。未来，将对该设备进行改进，并在活体猪模型或人体上进行更多实验，以确认其疗效和安全性。
