title: In-vivo demonstration of a high resolution optical fiber manometry catheter for diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility disorders.
abstract: Fiber optic catheters for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility disorders are demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo. Single element catheters have been verified against existing solid state catheters and a multi-element catheter has been demonstrated for localized and full esophageal monitoring. The multi-element catheter consists of a series of closely spaced pressure sensors that pick up the peristaltic wave traveling along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The sensors are spaced on a 10 mm pitch allowing a full interpolated image of intraluminal pressure to be generated. Details are given of in-vivo trials of a 32-element catheter in the human oesophagus and the suitability of similar catheters for clinical evaluation in other regions of the human digestive tract is discussed. The fiber optic catheter is significantly smaller and more flexible than similar commercially available devices making intubation easier and improving patient tolerance during diagnostic procedures.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia. john.arkwright@csiro.au
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Arkwright
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Blenman
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Underhill
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Maunder
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Szczesniak
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Dinning
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry; D011312:Pressure; D013997:Time Factors