Robotic Eye Gaze for Endoscopy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Eye gaze technology for endoscopic inspection of the gastrointestinal tract
IRAS ID
288108
Contact name
Nisha Patel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Endoscopy is the benchmark test to investigate and diagnose conditions within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It is also the benchmark method to remove concerning growths such as polyps and early cancers.
Endoscopy can now be used to replace surgical procedures. An example of this is natural orifice transluminal surgery (NOTES) i.e. making an incision within the gut, say the stomach, to remove the gall bladder. This removes the need for any external incisions (i.e. traditional surgery) which in turn reduces hospital stays, complications and cost.
The basic design of the endoscope has not changed significantly since first developed.
Whilst the flexible ‘snake like’ section of the endoscope is advantageous in navigation through the gut, the flexibility of the endoscope itself makes it unstable and hard to control instruments when trying to perform procedures.As the field of endoscopy continues to expand the endoscope requires modification. This has led to novel and innovative devices including robotic devices that allow more intuitive and accurate control of the endoscope and instruments. Whilst this is beneficial in theory, in practice this has led to multiple operators or assistants. This leads to suboptimal collaborations, communication failures and problems with space constraints and cost.
Improvements in the endoscope to reduce patient discomfort and reduce the burden on the endoscopist are an important consideration. Gaze-control is an exciting concept using eye movements to control the endoscope and thus place less burden on the endoscopist hands. It is a quick and effective method of control and has already been applied to an endoscope within our department. Benchtop trials of the system allowed successful completion of a simulated endoscopy with a combination of eye and joystick control only by experienced endoscopists and novices. This trial aims to demonstrate the feasibility of this system in a clinical setting.
Lay Summary: 3 eye gaze UGI endoscopies were completed demonstrating feasibility
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0002
Date of REC Opinion
4 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion