A novel fiber-optic pressure sensor device for measuring variceal pressure

It has been reported that variceal pressure can predict the occurrence of variceal bleeding. However, the majority of methods presently used to measure variceal pressure are either invasive or inconvenient. In the present study, a fiber-optic pressure sensor was constructed to detect variceal pressure. The prospective study focused on the in vitro accuracy of a fiber-optic pressure sensor and investigated the clinical reliability and feasibility of this method. The fiber-optic pressure sensor covered a pressure-sensitive probe containing a fiber-optic pressure sensor and a workstation to record the pressure tracing. It was hypothesized that the endoscopic fiber-optic pressure sensor can effectively predict the risk of variceal bleeding. To test this hypothesis, 80 patients who suffered from cirrhosis and who had a history of variceal bleeding were included in the present study. The fiber-optic pressure sensor was guided through the biopsy channel using an endoscope in the patient cohort. Transjugular intrahepatic stent-shunt (TIPS) was subsequently performed within 24 h after measuring variceal pressure. A comparison of the results of the 80 patients was made between variceal pressure measured by the endoscopic fiber-optic pressure sensor and the portal pressure gradient (PPG) measured by a TIPS. The variceal pressure measurements with the fiber-optic pressure sensor were technically satisfactory in 78 patients. The results indicated that there was a linear correlation between the variceal pressure measured by the endoscopic fiber-optic pressure sensor and the PPG (r=0.940, P<0.001). These observations suggest that the fiber-optic pressure sensor is an accurate and feasible measurement technique. Therefore, the results of the present study indicate that the endoscopic fiber-optic pressure sensor is effective in predicting the risk of variceal bleeding.