DIACAPS:A SIMPLE pill that can diagnose inflammatory bowel disease has been developed by researchers in the Tyndall Institute at University College Cork (UCC).
The concept was devised to circumvent some of the shortcomings associated with endoscopies traditionally used to diagnose these conditions.
Lead researcher on the project Dr Karen Twomey said endoscopies cannot access some parts of the gut thereby reducing the quality of the data provided. The procedure is also invasive and requires a hospital stay.
The idea grew from a conversation between Twomey and a researcher in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in UCC who explained the limitations with endoscopies, currently the “gold standard” for diagnosing gut diseases.
Twomey was already aware of tiny micro-cameras contained within a capsule that could be swallowed like a tablet and used to take pictures of the patient as it travelled through their digestive system. “We thought we could use the capsule concept and incorporate some of our technology in it . . . to provide chemical analysis of the gut fluid and possibly provide an early diagnosis.”
The pill is swallowed and passes through the gastrointestinal tract. Information is gathered in-vivo [from within the body] by chemical micro sensors that transmit wirelessly to an external unit.
“Because gut fluids are so complex, the capsule gives you an analysis of the fluids in the gut and then we apply our specially designed software algorithms and we get a pattern which tells us if a person is healthy or unhealthy. The key breakthrough is the non-invasive access to internal biological fluids.”
Research funding for the idea was secured in 2005 from Enterprise Ireland and Twomey and her team have now developed a prototype that is being prepared for medical trials.
Twomey is working with a consultancy firm to help bring the product through the licensing process and has met with the Irish Medicines Board.
According to Twomey the system, called DiaCaps, has an 80 per cent reliability in identifying bowel disease, compared to 60 per cent for other tests.
She is developing a second product for GPs to analyse gut fluids in their surgeries. “It is a fluid analysis that will provide a quick diagnosis, rather than having to send the sample off to a lab.”
tyndall.ie anducc.ie/research/apc/
