SBIR Phase I: CapScan: Non-Invasive Sampling and Analysis of the Human GI Tract to Advance Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种工具，用于在各种医疗条件下非侵入性地测量人类胃肠道(GI)内的炎症标志物、微生物和代谢状况。最初，该设备可用于炎症性肠病(IBD)的诊断和治疗。该设备及其收集的数据将用于改善肥胖和相关代谢紊乱的治疗，例如II型糖尿病，这些疾病每年累计给美国经济造成超过2000亿美元的损失。鉴于肠道生理学对人类健康的中心地位，这项技术可能会在监测人类健康方面有更多的用途，最终使其成为像今天医学实践中的血液测试一样的常规和信息。这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将向人类胃肠道的远端小肠区域提供一个药丸大小的设备，并触发该区域管腔内容物的收集。该设备需要适应人类肠道生理上的巨大变化。采样设备将遇到从pH 1到pH 8的生化环境。正常蠕动将采样设备送到胃肠道所需区域所需的时间从3小时到10小时不等。此外，成本和安全限制强烈支持使用没有主动供电传感器或致动器的无源设备。使用机械和材料科学创新的多学科方法可以应对这些挑战，并使拟议的设备成为IBD和一般胃肠道疾病的平台采样技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a tool to non-invasively measure inflammatory markers, microbes and metabolic profiles inside the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract for a variety of medical conditions. Initially, the device can be used for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This device and the data it collects will be used to improve the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders, such as type II diabetes, that cumulatively cost the US economy over $200 billion per year. Given the centrality of gut physiology to human health, there will likely be additional uses of the technology in monitoring human health, eventually making it as routine and informative as a blood test is today in the practice of medicine.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will deliver a pill-sized device to the distal small intestine region of the human GI tract and trigger the collection of the luminal contents in that region. The device will need to accommodate tremendous variation in the physiology of the human gut. The sampling device will encounter a biochemical environment ranging from pH 1 to pH 8. The time required for normal peristalsis to deliver the sampling device to the desired region of the GI tract will vary from 3 to 10 hours. Furthermore, cost and safety constraints strongly favor the use of a passive device with no actively powered sensors or actuators. A multidisciplinary approach using mechanical and material science innovations can meet these challenges and make the proposed device a platform sampling technology for IBD, and GI disorders in general.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.