University of Washington

Michael B Kimmey

Eric J Seibel

Richard Stephen Johnston

Fred E Silverstein

Roy W Martin

Andrew Hollis Proctor

Michael D Schuffler

Geoffrey C Jiranek

A capsule is coupled to a tether that is manipulated to position the capsule and a scanner included within the capsule at a desired location within a lumen in a patient's body. Images produced by the scanner can be used to detect Barrett's Esophagus (BE) and early (asymptomatic) esophageal cancer after the capsule is swallowed and positioned with the tether to enable the scanner in the capsule to scan a region of the esophagus above the stomach to detect a characteristic dark pink color indicative of BE. The scanner moves in a desired pattern to illuminate a portion of the inner surface. Light from the inner surface is then received by detectors in the capsule, or conveyed externally through a waveguide to external detectors. Electrical signals are applied to energize an actuator that moves the scanner. The capsule can also be used for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes in other lumens.

Tethered capsule endoscope for Barrett's Esophagus screening

Devices are described which can be used to study the physiological function of the intestinal wall. These devices include an ultrasonic transducer that can be attached to a region of the intestinal wall. The transducer interrogates the wall and echoes are obtained from the different wall layers. The echoes are processed to produce an M-mode display of the wall. This allows monitoring how the wall changes with time. For example, as the wall contracts the muscle layer thickens and this action may be observed with the device. Other sensors and electrodes can be combined with this probe to correlate various physiological action. Finally, several such probes can be combined into a common introducible probe but which will monitor several regions along the intestinal wall. The major advantage of the disclosed device is that it provides a measurement of intestinal motility previously unattainable and it is introducible by endoscopy. This makes it a suitable tool for studying patient disease.

Method and apparatus for determining the motility of a region in the

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Michael B Kimmey