A fibre optic catheter for simultaneous measurement of longitudinal and circumferential muscular activity in the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

Diagnostic catheters based on fibre Bragg gratings (FBG's) are proving to be highly effective for measurement of the muscular activity associated with motility in the human gut. While the primary muscular contractions that generate peristalsis are circumferential in nature, it has long been known that there is also a component of longitudinal contractility present, acting in harmony with the circumferential component to improve the overall efficiency of material movement. We report the detection of longitudinal motion in mammalian intestine using an FBG technique that should be viable for similar detection in humans. The longitudinal sensors have been combined with our previously reported FBG pressure sensing elements to form a composite catheter that allows the relative phase between the two components to be detected. The catheter output has been validated using video mapping in an ex-vivo rabbit ileum preparation.