Ingestible Capsule Fluid Sampling via Rotating Chamber Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ingestible electronic devices are insufficient for diagnosing conditions like Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, Crohn's disease, and H pylori infection, as they rely on image capture alone, and often require invasive procedures to obtain gastric-intestinal fluids for accurate diagnosis and drug development.
Innovation Solution
An ingestible electronic device with a housing, rotatable shaft, and microcontroller that aligns a sampling port with sample collection chambers to collect gastric-intestinal fluid samples, using deformable cartridges with foam material for filtration and a sealing coating, and sensors for environmental data, allowing for non-invasive sampling and drug concentration analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ingestible electronic devices use image capture only, then device simplicity is maintained, but diagnostic capability for gastric-intestinal conditions is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines image capture functionality with fluid sampling capability into a single ingestible device. The device integrates a camera system and a fluid collection system with multiple chambers, allowing simultaneous or sequential operation of both functions to provide comprehensive diagnostic information for gastric-intestinal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The ingestible device is designed to perform multiple diagnostic functions: capturing images of the gastric-intestinal tract and collecting fluid samples for analysis. This multi-functional approach enables the device to diagnose various conditions including infections, inflammations, and structural abnormalities that require both visual and fluid-based assessment.
2Measurement precision
If invasive procedures are used to obtain gastric-intestinal fluids, then sample collection accuracy is improved, but patient comfort and procedural complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs self-sampling of gastric-intestinal fluids without requiring external invasive procedures. The fluid collection chambers are positioned to passively or actively collect samples as the device moves through the digestive tract, eliminating the need for needle punctures, endoscopic interventions, or other invasive techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces invasive mechanical procedures (needles, catheters, endoscopes) with an ingestible capsule that uses natural digestive tract passage to access and collect fluids. The device may use magnetic actuation, pressure differentials, or capillary action to draw fluids into collection chambers without physical penetration of tissue.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sample collection chambers are included, then sampling versatility is improved, but device volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates multiple fluid collection chambers in a nested or concentric arrangement within the limited volume of the ingestible capsule. Chambers may be arranged radially around a central axis or stacked in layers, allowing maximum sampling capacity within the constraint of a swallowable device size.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid collection system is divided into multiple discrete chambers, each capable of collecting samples from different locations or time periods. This segmentation allows versatile sampling strategies while maintaining a compact overall structure, as each chamber is small and can be independently controlled or activated.
4Measurement precision
If sampling port alignment with collection chambers is automated, then sampling precision is improved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses periodic or intermittent activation of the sampling mechanism rather than continuous operation. The sampling port aligns with collection chambers at specific intervals or triggers (e.g., when passing through particular GI tract segments), reducing energy consumption while maintaining sampling precision when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates sensors that detect environmental conditions (pH, temperature, pressure, or magnetic field position) to determine optimal sampling moments. This feedback mechanism triggers sampling only when appropriate conditions are met, optimizing precision while minimizing unnecessary energy expenditure from continuous motor operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An ingestible electronic capsule for the collection of samples along a gastric intestinal tract and methods relating thereto are provided. The ingestible electronic capsule includes a housing and a cap that form an interior chamber. The cap includes a sampling port and one or more sample collection chambers are disposed within the interior chamber. A motor is also disposed within the interior chamber and is configured to rotate one of the cap and the one or more sample collection chambers so to align one or the one or more sample collection chambers and the sampling port of the cap so to allow for sample collection. A microcontroller is also disposed within the interior chamber and is in communication with at least the motor. The microcontroller is configured to control the selective alignment of the sampling port and one of the one or more sample collection chambers and induce gastric intestinal fluid sampling.