An ingestible, NIR-fluorometric, cancer-screening capsule.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Early-stage cancer detection in the small intestine remains challenging due to its inaccessibility.
• Current diagnostic methods can be invasive or lack sensitivity for early-stage detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a cost-effective screening capsule prototype for detecting early-stage small intestine cancer.
• To assess the prototype's ability to detect specific fluorescence markers indicative of cancerous tissues.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mixed-signal, high-sensitivity fluorometer system integrated into a small-sized, low-power capsule.
• Utilizing indocyanine green (ICG) fluorophore dye to label potential cancerous tissues.
• Conducting ex-vivo experiments on swine intestine samples impregnated with ICG.

Main Results:

• The prototype successfully detected low concentrations of ICG (nanomolar and micromolar range).
• The system functions as a sensitive fluorometer, recording fluorescence levels throughout the small intestine.
• Demonstrated capability to detect fluorescence levels relevant for early small intestine cancer detection.

Conclusions:

• The developed capsule prototype offers a promising, cost-effective solution for early cancer detection in the small intestine.
• The high-sensitivity fluorometer approach bypasses the need for labor-intensive video analysis required in imaging-based methods.
• This technology has the potential to significantly improve screening for small intestine cancers.