Ileostomy Bag Probiotic Analysis via Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for analyzing the fate and mechanisms of probiotics in the human small intestine are invasive and do not accurately reflect the life cycle or actions of anaerobic/facultative anaerobic microbial probiotics, which are crucial for their functionality.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive technique using ileostomy bags to collect and analyze the contents of ileostomy patients who ingest a defined quantity of probiotics, allowing for the enumeration and analysis of probiotic fate and mechanisms of action in the small intestine, including changes in commensal microbiota.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If stool samples are used to enumerate probiotics, then microbial counts can be obtained, but the fate and actions of probiotics in the small intestine are not accurately reflected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an ileostomy bag as an intermediary device to collect effluent from the small intestine. This mediator allows indirect access to the small intestine contents without requiring direct invasive procedures, enabling probiotic enumeration at the site of action while maintaining patient comfort and safety
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the sampling location from the distal stool to the proximal small intestine effluent. By taking out the analysis point closer to where probiotics exert their primary effects, the method captures more accurate information about probiotic fate and mechanisms of action in the target environment
2Measurement precision
If invasive methods are used to analyze small intestine contents, then accurate probiotic fate data can be obtained, but patient comfort and safety are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The ileostomy bag serves a dual purpose: it is both a medical necessity for waste diversion in ileostomy patients and a research tool for probiotic analysis. The system uses the patient's own anatomical modification to enable sampling, eliminating the need for separate invasive procedures and reducing additional harm or discomfort
Solution Approach 2:
The ileostomy bag acts as a mediator that transforms a medical condition into a research opportunity. It provides indirect access to small intestine contents without requiring additional invasive interventions, thereby maintaining patient safety and comfort while enabling accurate probiotic fate analysis
3Ease of operation
If probiotic analysis is performed distally in stool, then sampling is easier, but the functional impact in the oxygen-depleted small intestine is missed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sampling location from the distal stool environment to the proximal small intestine effluent. This extraction captures probiotics at an earlier stage in their journey, before they are diluted and altered by passage through the entire gastrointestinal tract, preserving information about their initial fate and functionality in the target environment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs probiotic enumeration at an earlier location in the gastrointestinal tract where probiotics are still present in higher concentrations and have not yet undergone significant environmental changes. This preliminary sampling captures data about probiotic fate before dilution and metabolic alterations occur downstream
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a method for a non-invasive technique to analyze the fate of probiotics and commensal microbiota from the human upper gastrointestinal tract, namely the ileum. The invention further relates to methods for the enumeration and determination of mechanism of action of probiotics in a non-invasive manner from the end of the small intestine. A composition comprising a probiotic delivered in vivo to healthy individuals with an ileostomy bag is described.