Brynjulf Ystgaard1, Per E Storli1, Lars C Rekstad, MD1, Tonje S Steigedal, PhD2. 1St Olav University Hospital, 2Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Most hospitals have a group of patients with psychological disorders causing self-harming behavior. A few of these do this by swallowing objects such as eating utensils, batteries and razor blades. Some objects are challenging to retrieve endoscopically, typically forks and table knives. An unsuccessful attempt will most often necessitate a laparotomy. At our institution in 2015 a total of 51 endoscopies were performed on this indication, using in total 60 hours of surgery, with at least 90 hours of operating theatre time. Thirteen (25,5 %) of these patients had to undergo a laparotomy. In 2010 the number of endoscopies related to this problem in the US and EU was estimated to 250 000. The problem is thus of a significant magnitude in economic terms, and contributes to increased suffering for a group of patients with problems in abundance.
We believe that these problems can be solved with instruments tailor-made for retrieving such objects. This type of instrument is currently not available. We have constructed a gripping instrument facilitating easier extraction of objects like forks, knives and batteries. This is constructed as an add-on instrument, to be used with a gastroscope of any make. The gripping plates rotates, to facilitate in-line traction with the endoscope also when the approach and attachment to the foreign body is unaligned. The gripping plates has a high friction surface, making it possible to extract mucous-covered metal foreign bodies. The size of the device can be modified to accommodate various sizes of foreign bodies.
We have developed a prototype consisting of the rotating gripping plates, mounted on a base to be fitted on the tip of the scope. A patent application for this device was filed in 2017, and the prototype has been tested ex vivo and in animal lab studies. The latest prototype repeatedly removed a fork from the stomach of a living, anesthetized pig in two minutes, counting from the start of the procedure to the complete removal of the fork.
We are currently seeking partners for commercialization of the device.
For further information, visit www.khoral.tech
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 91104
Program Number: ETP854
Presentation Session: Emerging Technology iPoster Session (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster