Developing and validating on-organ sensors for intestinal transit monitoring

Citation

Maltinsky W (2023) Developing and validating on-organ sensors for intestinal transit monitoring. BioMedEng23, Swansea University, 05.09.2023-06.09.2023.

Abstract
Bowel related problems ranging from faecal incontinence, dysmotility, or bowel obstructions, are a prevalent health issue that affects over 6.5 million people in the UK. These are life-altering issues that cause distress, embarrassment, and can often be painful. Understanding the intestinal transit patterns that lead to (or are a result of) the mentioned issues is key to provide patients and their carers with strategies to regain control of their daily activities. With this goal in mind, we are developing on-organ sensors that can detect changes in the bowel when stool is passing, and send signals to a telemetric platform that provides the user with real-time transit data in a discrete manner. This is a multi-disciplinary project where different issues have been tackled: from achieving patient and doctors’ acceptance (using questionnaires and focus groups), to the development and validation of the sensors, and finally, to the creation of an app for the end users.