Sonopill: minimally invasive gastrointestinal diagnosis and therapy

胶囊内窥镜用于胃肠道(GI)的医疗诊断仅在过去10年才出现。目前已有100多万患者受益于“胶囊内窥镜”，它显然是进一步创新的候选者。大多数胶囊内窥镜设备记录和传输代表肠道内部视觉外观的视频数据，但其他诊断技术的研究已经开始，如测量pH值，也有一些关于胶囊用于治疗的研究。医学超声成像是一种安全、廉价的技术，可以在护理点实时应用。超声波还能够通过聚焦超声手术进行治疗，并在研究中用于靶向药物输送。Sonopill计划的核心是探索以胶囊形式部署的超声成像和治疗能力。这将得到广泛的临床前工作的支持，以证明超声波和视觉成像的互补性，以及多模式诊断和治疗的研究，以及控制声波药丸通过胃肠道运动的机制的研究。这在超声设备和系统设计、微工程和微电子封装、自主胶囊定位、用于诊断和干预的传感器套件以及转化为临床实践的途径等领域带来了研究挑战和机遇。我们精心构建的开放式方法最大限度地提高了应对这些研究挑战的可能性，同时为英国在多模胶囊内窥镜检查领域提供了可持续的国际领先地位，为临床医生提供了更大的能力，为患者群体提供了更可接受的实践，并降低了经济福祉的成本。

Capsule endoscopy for medical diagnosis in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has emerged only in the past 10 years. Now established in "pillcams", which have benefitted more than 1 m patients worldwide, it is a clear candidate for further innovation.Most capsule endoscopy devices record and transmit video data representing the visual appearance of the inside of the gut, but work has begun on other diagnostic techniques, such as the measurement of pH, and there has been some research into the use of capsules for treatment as well.Medical ultrasound imaging is a safe, inexpensive technique which can be applied in real-time at the point of care. Ultrasound is also capable of treatment through focused ultrasound surgery and, in research, for targeted drug delivery.The core of the Sonopill programme is the exploration of ultrasound imaging and therapeutic capabilities deployed in capsule format. This will be supported by extensive pre-clinical work to demonstrate the complementary nature of ultrasound and visual imaging, along with studies of multimodal diagnosis and therapy, and of mechanisms to control the motion of the Sonopill as it travels through the GI tract. This brings research challenges and opportunities in areas including ultrasound device and systems design, microengineering and microelectronic packaging, autonomous capsule positioning, sensor suites for diagnosis and intervention, and routes to translation into clinical practice. Our carefully structured but open-ended approach maximises the possibility to meet these research challenges while delivering for the UK a sustainable international lead in multimodality capsule endoscopy, to provide greater capabilities for the clinician, more acceptable practice for the patient population, and lower costs for economic wellbeing.