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，胃肠道(GI)癌症在全球造成182万人死亡。此外，60%的小肠癌是在晚期被发现的；如果及早诊断，存活率从43%上升到83%。因此，在可治愈的阶段及早发现恶性肿瘤对于改善预后和降低死亡率至关重要。目前，胃肠道异常是通过一种名为无线胶囊内窥镜(WCE)的工具诊断的，患者吞下穿过小肠的相机胶囊，捕获并发送用于诊断的彩色图像。虽然WCE对小肠异常(如不明原因的消化道出血、炎症性肠病、肿瘤性病变和克罗恩病)效果很好，但常见的局限性是图像质量不佳、GI特征可见性差、包膜寿命低以及无法定位病变，从而导致诊断效率低下和不完整。DG计划旨在通过开发集成了新的芯片上荧光和模拟可摄取传感器的下一代WCE工具来克服这些限制。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，从而能够及早发现恶性肿瘤。此外，目前胃肠道出血的诊断是通过图像分析，这很容易出错，导致治疗效果不佳。我们建议使用芯片上的颜色传感器来捕捉胃肠液和胃壁的光谱细节，从而可以实时准确地检测各种出血情况(活动、慢性或血栓)。它将消除连续使用相机的需要，节省电力并延长太空舱的电池寿命。我们建议使用pH、压力和运动传感器来帮助定位胶囊。研究成果将通过早期检测恶性肿瘤和实时检测出血来提高胃肠道诊断的有效性和准确性。由于只有四种商业WCE药丸在使用，而全球市场不断增长(2014年约为4.55亿美元，2020年增长8.7%)，这项研究处于有利地位，将在生物医学工程和医疗技术领域产生影响。像人类一样，胃肠道疾病在马等大型动物中很常见。只有在手术期间才能对马的小肠进行直接检查。因此，仅限马的WCE工具在临床诊断(胃肠道出血、术后吻合口检查)和研究用途(研究胃肠道成像)中都有应用。我们能设计出第一种用于马内窥镜检查的胶囊药丸吗？在这份提案中，我们将进行动物试验(使用人类药丸)，分析数据，并使用它来生成特定于马的设计要求。在VET市场上缺乏类似设备的情况下，这项研究将为VET诊断开辟新的机遇。

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.