INTESTINAL WALL INVESTIGATION BY AN ENDOSCOPE ECHO PROBE

胃肠道内窥镜检查是一种广泛应用的诊断技术， 胃肠病学 新的纤维内窥镜允许检查内部 整个上下胃肠道的衬里和活检 通过内窥镜采集粘膜表面的样本。 但不 可能达到足够深的下面，以检查完整的厚度， 墙壁或底层结构。 虽然新的成像技术 可用（经皮超声、核磁共振等）， 这些技术不能对肠壁成像以确定诊断 在大多数患者中，由于分辨率不足，肠壁运动和 无法通过确定的局部区域进行横向切片 内镜 此外，这些技术是昂贵的、缓慢的，并且 有限的可用性。 我们计划研究和开发一种内窥镜微型超声 安装在内窥镜导管尖端上的成像系统 通过可用内窥镜的活检通道。 因为这个系统 将使用高频率（15-20 MHz），它将产生出色的分辨率 （0.3mm）的肠壁和邻近结构。 高分辨率 将以低渗透为代价获得，但这不是一个 这是因为探头直接放置在待成像的组织上。 该设备将易于使用，定向和解释，具有高分辨率 图像. 该装置将相对便宜，因此具有 良好的成本效益比。 调查将涉及几个步骤，其中第一个是建立 实验室原型。 在解决设计问题后， 探针在切除的人体组织和动物中进行测试， 原型将被建造。 该器械将在动物和 切除的组织 然后将在患有以下疾病的患者中进行临床试验： 肠壁全层损伤的疾病。 这包括 克罗恩病与胃、食管和结肠肿瘤。 可能 也可用于壁肌肉组织的生理学研究。 这个设备 将为胃肠道疾病的诊断提供一个新的维度。

Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a widely practiced diagnostic technology in gastroenterology. New fiberendoscopes allow the inspection of the interior lining of the entire upper and lower gastrointestinal tracts and biopsies taken via the endoscope sample this mucosal surface. However, it is not possible to reach deep enough beneath it to examine the full thickness of the wall or the underlying structures. Although new imaging technology is available (percutaneous ultrasound, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc.), these techniques cannot image the intestinal wall to determine a diagnosis in most patients because of insufficient resolution, gut wall movement and inability to make transverse slices through localized areas identified at endoscopy. Furthermore, these techniques are expensive, slow, and of limited availability. We plan to investigate and develop an endoscopic miniature ultrasound imaging system mounted onto the tip of an endoscopic catheter which can be passed via the biopsy channel of available endoscopes. Because this system will use high frequency (15-20 MHz), it will yield excellent resolution (0.3mm) of the gut wall and the adjacent structures. The high resolution will be obtained at the expense of low penetration but this is not a problem because the probe is placed directly on the tissue to be imaged. The device will be easy to use, orient and interpret, with high resolution images. The device will be relatively inexpensive and therefore has an excellent cost benefit ratio. The investigation will involve several steps of which the first is to build a laboratory prototype. After the design considerations are resolved and the probe is tested in excised human tissue and in animals, an endoscopic prototype will be built. This device will be tested in animals and on excised tissue. It will then undergo clinical testing in patients with disease involving the full thickness of the intestinal wall. This includes Crohn's disease and neoplasms of the stomach, esophagus and colon. It may also be useful in physiologic studies of the wall musculature. This device will provide a new dimension in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease.