A Novel Sensor for Real-Time Pressure Monitoring in Colonoscopy Training

Colonoscopy is the most frequently employed method for screening and diagnosing colorectal cancers. A significant factor resulting in an incomplete colonoscopy procedure is direct trauma to the colon due to large forces applied during the insertion of a colonoscope which causes significant pain and discomfort to the patient. Acquiring the necessary skills for performing a successful procedure is technically challenging and requires substantial training. The current learning techniques primarily focus on completing the procedure without any feedback of the intensity of the pressure transmitted from the colonoscope to the colon wall. In this paper, we present a pressure-sensing sleeve that can be used in an interactive simulator-based training environment capable of providing real-time feedback on the pressure transmitted by the scope to the simulator colon. The sensor was designed using flex PCBs and utilizing the piezo-resistive behavior of carbon-filled polymers to reliably measure pressures up to the safe limit of 34 kPa.