The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a tool to non-invasively measure inflammatory markers, microbes and metabolic profiles inside the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract for a variety of medical conditions. Initially, the device can be used for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This device and the data it collects will be used to improve the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders, such as type II diabetes, that cumulatively cost the US economy over $200 billion per year. Given the centrality of gut physiology to human health, there will likely be additional uses of the technology in monitoring human health, eventually making it as routine and informative as a blood test is today in the practice of medicine.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will deliver a pill-sized device to the distal small intestine region of the human GI tract and trigger the collection of the luminal contents in that region. The device will need to accommodate tremendous variation in the physiology of the human gut. The sampling device will encounter a biochemical environment ranging from pH 1 to pH 8. The time required for normal peristalsis to deliver the sampling device to the desired region of the GI tract will vary from 3 to 10 hours. Furthermore, cost and safety constraints strongly favor the use of a passive device with no actively powered sensors or actuators. A multidisciplinary approach using mechanical and material science innovations can meet these challenges and make the proposed device a platform sampling technology for IBD, and GI disorders in general.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
