Image courtesy of MIT
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a knotted-tube device that could be an easier alternative to gastrointestinal dysmotility diagnostics.
The MIT researchers, along with collaborators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, designed a device that comprises a silicone tube filled with liquid metal and knotted multiple times and can generate measurements similar to high-resolution manometry, the gold-standard diagnostic technique. It is derived from the “ancient Incan technology” known as quipu, in which a set of knotted cords is used to communicate information, the researchers said.
They suggest that the device could be a cheaper and easier-to-manufacturing alternative to existing diagnostic devices for GI dysmotility that usually involve a catheter containing pressure transducers to sense contractions in the GI tract.
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