A swallowable capsule for obtaining samples of gastric and/or intestinal fluids, the capsule defining an inner fluid receiving chamber having an inlet port which is normally sealed off from the exterior of the capsule by way of a blocking means including a mass the properties of which change upon contact with the suitable fluids present in the digestion tract, causing the means to communicate the inlet port with the outside of the capsule allowing a sample of the fluid to be aspirated into the chamber. Located within the chamber is a closing means normally maintained in a flow permitting position by a mass which glues the necessary parts of the closing means together in such a way that the parts cannot move, so that the action of the closing means is neutralized. This mass is responsive to contact with the suitable fluids of the alimentary canal to permit the closing means to operate and seal off the chamber so that the sample is secured from contamination during its further travel through the rest of the digestive tract.
A device for the diagnosis of certain gastrointestinal pathogens includes a gelatin pharmaceutical capsule which contains a malleable drag material made of a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil. Embedded in the drag material is a narrow piece of thin sampling cloth with inwardly tapered ends. The free end of the sampling cloth is attached to a string which extends through a perforation in the capsule. The patient holds the free end of the string and swallows the capsule. The sampling cloth and drag material are retrieved for testing after the capsule is digested.
An implantable pressure measurement device is effective to measure a physiological pressure, which pressure can be ascertained by external imaging of the device. In one embodiment, a predetermined amount of a fluid is sealed in a flexible member which is disposed in a housing. A position indicating member is coupled to one end of the flexible member. The fluid expands and contracts the flexible member in response to external pressure changes. A physiological pressure is determined by ascertaining the relative location of the position indicating member on the housing. An external imaging system is used to view scale markings located on the position indicating member and the housing. In another embodiment, an elongate member is axially movable within a housing. A sealing member seals an amount of air in a portion of the housing and is sealably engaged with one end of the elongate member. A physiological pressure is determined using an imaging system to determine the position of the elongate member.
A medical capsule device for releasing a substance at a defined location in the gastrointestinal tract. The device has a capsule body defining one or more apertures in the circumferential wall thereof and a sleeve valve rotatably positioned therein having one or more corresponding apertures in the circumferential wall thereof. The sleeve valve comprises a coil and electrically connected heatable resistor which are operatively associated with an actuator member formed of a shape memory alloy responsive to heat and which will move from a non-heated first shape to a heated second shape. Actuator stop means are provided in the capsule body for being engaged by the actuator member during movement from the non-heated first shape to the heated second shape so that the actuator member movement will serve to rotate the sleeve valve to an open position.
A gastrointestinal diagnostic capsule that includes an encapsulated expandable foam material introduced through the oral cavity and through the esophagus into the stomach with the capsule being dissolved by the temperature and moisture conditions encountered so that the foam block or cube can expand in the stomach and be withdrawn through the gastroesophageal junction and up through the entire esophagus to obtain specimen material for diagnostic procedures for early detection of gastroesophageal cancer. The capsule and encapsulated expandable body or block of foam material which has been reduced in volume before encapsulation includes a flexible cord connected thereto and is preferably introduced on the end of a nasogastric tube, endoscope or stylus device to enable accurate positioning of the capsule after which the introducer or nasogastric tube may be withdrawn so that when the abrasive foam body or block has expanded in the stomach, it may be withdrawn through the gastroesophageal junction and up through the entire esophagus with the abrasive foam blocking obtaining cellular specimens for subsequent processing and cytology to enable ready detection of gastroesophageal cancer. Similar insertion and withdrawal techniques with the diagnostic capsule introduced through the anus by using a colonoscope allows early detection by cytology of colon cancer in patients with chronic ulcerative colitis.
A gastrointestinal sampling device that increases the number of epithelial cells removed from the stomach lining without causing additional discomfort to the patient, and which is particularly useful for obtaining samples from the gastric mucus and between the epithelial cells of the stomach. It comprises a drag material (12) for obtaining a gastrointestinal sample and a protective sheath (22) for deployment about the drag material such that the drag material is substantially enclosed by the protective sheath upon removal from the gastrointestinal tract.
