In-vivo demonstration of a high resolution optical fiber manometry catheter for diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility disorders

Abstract

Fiber optic catheters for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility disorders are demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo. Single element catheters have been verified against existing solid state catheters and a multi-element catheter has been demonstrated for localized and full esophageal monitoring. The multi-element catheter consists of a series of closely spaced pressure sensors that pick up the peristaltic wave traveling along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The sensors are spaced on a 10 mm pitch allowing a full interpolated image of intraluminal pressure to be generated. Details are given of in-vivo trials of a 32-element catheter in the human oesophagus and the suitability of similar catheters for clinical evaluation in other regions of the human digestive tract is discussed. The fiber optic catheter is significantly smaller and more flexible than similar commercially available devices making intubation easier and improving patient tolerance during diagnostic procedures.

Review of fiber-optic pressure sensors for biomedical and biomechanical applications

“…A good example of innovation effort was accomplished by Dennison and Wild 60 They developed an FBG sensor with 200 μm OD, a sensitivity of 58.7 pm MPa −1 and a sensing area of only 0.02 mm 2 . Calibration results have demonstrated its ability to measure pressure with AE2.7 mmHg repeatability over a range of 105 mmHg.…”

“…Nevertheless, more contributions can be found concerning the use of FOS to sense pressure in other sites of the human body, such as the trachea, 200,201 the gastrointestinal tract, 2,56,202 and the intravaginal, 17 intraocular, 146 and intramedullary spaces. 147 We will explore some of them in the following lines.…”

“…Additionally, their output is restricted to a small sensing area making it necessary to use more sensors to sense larger regions (e.g., a temperature profile along a tissue), but only at the expense of increased dimensions and loss of flexibility. 2 These disadvantages combined with poor biocompatibility of metallic components and large sensitivity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) can compromise some in vivo applications and their use in clinical practice. A good example is their application in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment.…”

Fiber Optic-Based Pressure Sensing Surface for Skin Health Management in Prosthetic and Rehabilitation Interventions

“…Within these attempts, a FBG-based pressure sensor has been demonstrated in the design of a high-resolution optical fiber manometry catheter [35]. On the other hand, fiber optic surface sensing structures for health-care pressure measurements have not yet been adequately addressed.…”

Optical Fiber Gratings in Perspective of Their Applications in Biomedicine

“…A research group from Australia has demonstrated multi-element catheter using FBG pressure sensor in in-vivo trials in the human oesophagus for diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility disorders (Arkwright et al 2009). The FBG based catheters had an outer diameter of less than 3 mm and were very flexible in comparison to solid state catheters, allowing easy nasal intubation and relative comfort for the patient during subsequent clinical diagnosis.…”