Intraoperative bowel cleansing tool in active locomotion capsule endoscopy

Capsule endoscopy (CE) can be considered an example of “disruptive technology” since it represents a bright alternative to traditional diagnostic methodologies. If compared with traditional endoscopy, bowel cleansing procedure in CE becomes of greater importance, due to the impossibility to intraoperatively operate on unclean gastrointestinal tract areas. Considering the promising results and benefits obtained in the field of CE for gastrointestinal diagnosis and intervention, the authors approached the bowel cleansing issue with the final aim to propose an innovative and easy-to-use intraoperative cleansing system to be applied to an active locomotion softly-tethered capsule device, already developed by the authors. The system, that has to be intended as an additional tool for intraoperatively cleansing procedure of the colonic tract, is composed by a flexible tube with a metallic deflector attached to the distal end; it can be headed to the target area through the capsule operating channel. Performances of the colonoscopic capsule and intraoperative cleansing capabilities were successfully confirmed both in an in-vitro and ex-vivo experimental session. The innovative intraoperative cleansing system demonstrated promising results in terms of water injection, colonic wall cleansing procedure and subsequent water suction, thus guaranteeing to reduce the risk of inadequate visualization of the mucosa in endoscopic procedures.