Gastrointestinal (GI) disease has a high incidence in clinical practice, especially in remote areas 1 and during natural disasters. However, it is difficult to perform conventional GI endoscopy outdoors as it requires a large area, hydroelectric power, and a complex cleaning and disinfection process 2 . To overcome the above limitations, we developed a novel portable upper GI endoscopy system that is capable of performing the same functions as a conventional endoscopy system and can be packed into a suitcase.
The system consists of six parts: endoscope, water and air pump, suction, power, monitor, and storage box (Ankon Technologies Co., Ltd., Wuhan, China). The system has two statuses: transportation and working. During the transportation status, the overall size of the box is 68 × 42 × 32 cm and it weighs less than 35 kg ( Fig. 1 a ). When in working status, the probe of the endoscope is covered by a disposable sheathed system ( Fig. 1 b ). The film covering the endoscope body, and the suction button, air-water pipe, and suction-biopsy channel are all single use 3 . After charging, the portable system is capable of running for more than 4 hours.
Fig. 1.
The portable endoscopy system. a In transportation status. b In working status, covered by a disposable sheathed system.
The doctors prepared the portable endoscopy system in working status and placed the disposable sheathed system on the endoscope. In a volunteer, the endoscope could clearly observe the gastric fundus ( Fig. 2 a ) and angular incisure ( Fig. 2 b ) under retroflexed view, and pass into the descending part of the duodenum ( Fig. 2 c ). After examination, the endoscopist replaces the disposable sheathed system with a new one before the next case ( Video 1 ).
Fig. 2.
Endoscopic views of the portable endoscopy system. a The gastric fundus in the retroflexed view. b The angular incisure in the retroflexed view. c The descending part of the duodenum and papilla in the forward view.
Video 1 The installation process and instructions for use of the portable endoscopy system.
Only one portable GI endoscopy system currently exists (E.G. Scan; IntroMedic Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea), but this is diagnostic only without any treatment function 4 . Our system has both diagnostic and treatment capabilities. Besides the portability of this system, another advantage is that there is no need for routine cleaning and disinfection. It takes less than 5 minutes to apply and remove the disposable sheathed system. Therefore, this system has potential applications in remote areas and during natural disasters when facilities are lacking. Further studies using this system in humans are required to assess its performance and safety.
Endoscopy_UCTN_Code_CCL_1AB_2AC_3AH
Footnotes
Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Endoscopy E-Videos is an open access online section, reporting on interesting cases and new techniques in gastroenterological endoscopy. All papers include a high quality video and all contributions are freely accessible online. Processing charges apply (currently EUR 375), discounts and wavers acc. to HINARI are available. This section has its own submission website at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/e-videos
References
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