Smart sensor system and imaging techniques for wireless endoscopy and biomedical applications

世卫组织的一份报告显示，2012年全球胃肠腔癌（GI）导致182万人死亡。此外，60%的小肠癌是在晚期发现的;如果早期诊断，生存率从43%上升到83%。因此，在可治愈阶段早期发现恶性肿瘤对于改善预后和降低死亡率至关重要。目前，GI异常是通过一种名为无线胶囊内窥镜（WCE）的工具来诊断的，在这种工具中，患者吞下一个穿过小肠的摄像头胶囊，捕获并发送用于诊断的彩色图像。虽然WCE对小肠异常（如不明原因胃肠道出血、炎症性肠病、肿瘤性病变和克罗恩病）效果良好，但常见的局限性是图像质量欠佳、胃肠道特征可见性差、胶囊寿命短以及无法定位病变，导致诊断效率低下和不完整。它在检测癌前细胞和恶性胃肠道肿瘤方面也受到严重影响。DG计划旨在通过开发下一代WCE工具来克服这些限制，该工具集成了新的片上荧光和模拟可摄取传感器。在荧光成像中，光波深入组织，使正常细胞和癌细胞表现出可区分的光学特征;因此，新的粘膜特征变得可见，从而能够早期检测恶性肿瘤。此外，GI出血目前通过图像分析进行诊断，这是容易出错的，导致次优治疗。我们建议使用片上颜色传感器，捕获GI液体和壁的光谱细节，从而能够真实的实时准确检测各种出血状况（活动性、慢性或凝块）。它将消除连续使用相机的需要，节省电力并延长胶囊的电池寿命。我们建议使用pH值，压力和运动传感器来帮助定位胶囊。研究结果将通过早期发现恶性肿瘤和真实的时间发现出血来提高GI诊断的有效性和准确性。目前只有四种商用WCE药丸在使用，全球市场不断增长（2014年约为4.55亿美元，2020年增长8.7%），该研究有望在生物医学工程和医疗技术领域产生影响。像人类一样，胃肠道疾病在大型动物中很常见，比如马。只有在手术中才能直接检查马的小肠。因此，仅马WCE工具可用于临床诊断（GI出血、吻合术术后检查）和研究用途（研究GI成像）。我们能设计出第一个用于马内窥镜检查的胶囊药丸吗？在本提案中，我们将进行动物试验（使用人类药丸），分析数据，并使用它来生成马特定的设计要求。由于兽医市场缺乏类似的设备，这项研究将为兽医诊断开辟新的机会。

A WHO report shows that luminal gastrointestinal (GI) cancer caused 1.82M deaths worldwide in 2012. Furthermore, 60% of small bowel cancers are detected in advanced stages; if diagnosed early, the survival rate goes up from 43% to 83%. Thus, early detection of malignancies at a curable stage is critical for improving prognosis and reducing mortality.******GI abnormalities are currently diagnosed with a tool called Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE), where a patient swallows a camera capsule that travels through small bowel, captures and sends color images that are used for diagnosis. While WCE works well for small bowel abnormalities (like, obscure GI bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, neoplastic lesions and Crohn's disease), common limitations are suboptimal image quality, poor visibility of GI features, low capsule life, and inability to localize lesions, that lead to inefficient and incomplete diagnosis. It also suffers heavily in detecting precancerous cells and malignant GI tumors.******The DG program aims to overcome these limitations by developing the next generation WCE tool that integrates new on-chip fluorescence and analog ingestible sensors. In fluorescence imaging, light waves penetrate deep into tissue, causing normal and cancerous cells to exhibit distinguishable optical characteristics; as a result, new mucosal features become visible, enabling early detection of malignancies.******In addition, GI bleeding is currently diagnosed by image analysis, which is error-prone, resulting in suboptimal treatment. We propose to use on-chip color sensors that capture spectral details of GI fluid and wall, making it possible to accurately detect various bleeding conditions (active, chronic or clot) in real time. It will eliminate the need for continuous camera use, saving power and extending capsule's battery life. We propose to use pH, pressure and motion sensors to help localize the capsule.******The research outcomes will improve the effectiveness and accuracy of GI diagnosis by enabling early detection of malignancies and real time detection of bleeding. With only four commercial WCE pills in use, and the growing global market (~US$455M in 2014 and increasing by 8.7% in 2020), the research is well positioned to make an impact in areas of biomedical engineering and medical technologies.******Like humans, GI disorders are common in large animals, like horses. Direct examination of the small bowel in horses is only possible during surgery. Thus, an equine-only WCE tool has applications in both clinical diagnostic (GI bleeding, post-surgical exam of anastomosis) and research use (study GI imaging). Can we design the first-ever capsule pill for equine endoscopy? In this proposal, we will conduct animal trial (using human pill), analyze the data, and use it to generate equine-specific design requirements. With the lack of similar devices in vet market, the research will open up new opportunities in vet diagnosis.**