Towards Circular Endoscopy: A human-centered design approach to waste segregation in colonoscopy procedures

Healthcare is a major contributor to the negative effects on the environment, leading to adverse effects on the physical and mental health of people globally (IPCC, AR6). The Dutch healthcare sector alone is responsible for 7-8% of the national carbon footprint, 4,2% of total waste and 13% of raw material extraction (Steenmeijer et al. 2022). ...

Design of the Biopsy Containuer: The development and evaluation of an endoscopic biopsy storage instrument

Background: Colonoscopy is a successful screening method to prevent colorectal cancer (CRC). Biopsies are performed from suspicious tissue spots during the colonoscopic procedure to find cancerous polyps in an early stage of the disease. However, taking multiple biopsies is rather time-consuming and requires many repetitious actions from the...

Design of a Novel Propulsion Mechanism for Flexible Endoscopes Inspired by Plant Root Growth: A Bio-Inspired Solution to Propagation through the Human Colon

When inserting a flexible endoscope into a human colon during colonoscopy, limitations in the endoscope design can cause medical implications such as excessive colon stretching and buckling of the endoscope shaft. This thesis proposes a novel propulsion mechanism design for flexible endoscopes which changes the method of insertion as a way to...

Shaft-Guidance for Flexible Endoscopes

Flexible endoscopes (long, slender, flexible instruments with a camera and light at the distal end, having working channels to introduce flexible instruments) are used for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions inside the human digestive system and inside the abdomen. Though used for their flexibility, the flexibility of these instruments...

Development of PlastoLock overtube with temperature controlled rigidity for colonoscopy

To diagnose and treat colon cancer a colonoscopy is usually performed. Current colonoscopy is performed by advancing a colonoscope (scope) through the tortuous colon. However, the flexible scope often buckles when advanced. This can cause discomfort and pain for the patient and can make the examination of the colon difficult for the endoscopist....

Visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy simulator training

Visuo-spatial ability is associated with a quality of performance in a variety of surgical and medical skills. However, visuo-spatial ability is typically assessed using Visualization tests only, which led to an incomplete understanding of the involvement of visuo-spatial ability in these skills. To remedy this situation, the current study...

Enhanced visualization for improved lesion diagnosis in virtual colonoscopy

The risk of developing colon cancer is strongly correlated with the appearance of polypoid lesions (also called polyps) in the large intestine [Santoro et al. 2008]. Not all polyps are dangerous; in fact only one percent of polyps smaller than one centimeter is dangerous. However, when polyps grow bigger the risk quickly increases to over fifty...

Efficient seeding and defragmentation of curvature streamlines for colonic polyp detection

Many computer aided diagnosis (CAD) schemes have been developed for colon cancer detection using Virtual Colonoscopy (VC). In earlier work, we developed an automatic polyp detection method integrating flow visualization techniques, that forms part of the CAD functionality of an existing Virtual Colonoscopy pipeline. Curvature streamlines were...

Mucoadhesive films inside the colonic tube: Performance in a three-dimensional world

A self-propelling colonoscopic device moving inside the colonic tube should be able to periodically grip safely to the colonic wall as well as to manipulate the generated friction. The feasibility of achieving high grip and friction manipulation by covering the device with mucoadhesive films is experimentally tested. More precisely, the...

Application of mucoadhesive in a colon inspection device

Colonic cancer is the second leading cause of death among cancers in the Western world. Early detection greatly improves the chances of survival. Colonoscopy is a non-invasive detection method through natural access, making it possible to look inside the colon, take biopsies and remove small polyps that can develop into cancer. Colonoscopy is...

Electronic cleansing for visualization in CT colonography

In this thesis visualization and image processing methods are proposed that solve problems that are critical to the success of CT colonography; a non-invasive method to find the precursors of colon cancer. (1) A new optimal display mode was created and (2) the segmentation of the colon is enhanced.

Expert and construct validity of the Simbionix GI Mentor II endoscopy simulator for colonoscopy

Objectives The main objectives of this study were to establish expert validity (a convincing realistic representation of colonoscopy according to experts) and construct validity (the ability to discriminate between different levels of expertise) of the Simbionix GI Mentor II virtual reality (VR) simulator for colonoscopy tasks, and to assess the...

Colonic locomotion

The most effective screening method for colonic cancer is colonoscopy. However, colonoscopy cannot be easily embraced by the population because of the related pain intensity. Robotic devices that pull themselves forward through the colon are a possible alternative. The main challenge for such devices is their locomotion method along the slippery...

Polyps revealed on a virtual colon voyage: Three-dimensional colonoscopy reduces discomfort

In the western world, colon cancer is the second-largest cause of death from cancer. Since there is a considerable risk that polyps five millimetres and more in diameter may develop into malicious tumours, it is important that they can be detected at an early stage. Until now, this is done by means of an endoscope through the anus. Inserting and...