Endorectal Lumen Imaging and Diagnostic Probe

Problem Statement

A quarter of women in the United States suffer from pelvic floor disorder, and there is currently not a comfortable, efficient, cost-effective, and feasible diagnostic device that will help quantitatively measure the severity of the disorder. Current rectal manometry devices are limited in their access to data, are expensive, and are uncomfortable for the patients¹.

Solution Overview

We created a minimally invasive balloon catheter to measure the distention of the anal sphincter by adapting an esophageal catheter made by Crospon.

Crospon currently creates an esophageal that has 16 probes that measure impedance, spaced 2 centimeters apart. Once inserted, the bag is then filled with 0.3% saline. This catheter paired with the EndoFLIP system outputs a digital image representing the shape of the balloon, and gives a real-time image of the effect of the esophageal muscles as the patient swallows.

We utilized EndoFLIP technology and the impedance sensors from the esophageal catheter, but adapted the bag size and filling mechanism, such that this catheter could be used to determine the strength of the anorectal muscles.