Gastrointestinal surgeries carry risk of fluid leaks, a potentially life-threatening complication. But no existing methods can reliably and non-invasively detect these leaks.
To address this unmet need, researchers developed a tiny, soft, flexible sticker that changes in shape inside the body, enabling standard ultrasound tech to detect leaks for earlier detection and intervention. After the patient has recovered, the soft, tiny sticker simply dissolves away.
"These leaks can arise from subtle perforations in the tissue, often as imperceptible gaps between two sides of a surgical incision," said Northwestern's John A. Rogers, who led device development with postdoctoral fellow Jiaqi Liu."These types of defects cannot be seen directly with ultrasound imaging tools. They also escape detection by
The biggest problem is there's no way to predict who will develop such complications. And, by the time the patient is experiencing symptoms, they already are incredibly ill. "We like to monitor patients for complications for about 30 days," Hammill said."Having a device that lasts a month and then disappears sounded ideal."Instead of developing new imaging systems, Rogers speculated that his team might be able to enhance current imaging methods -- allowing them to"see" features that otherwise would be invisible.
"Because the acoustic properties of the metal disks are much different than those of the surrounding tissue, they provide very strong contrast in ultrasound images," Rogers said."In this way, we can essentially 'tag' an organ for monitoring." Because the need for monitoring extends only during a postsurgical recovery, Rogers team designed these stickers with bioresorbable materials.
Rogers and Hammill imagine that the device could be implanted at the end of a surgical procedure. Or, because it's small and flexible, the device also fits inside a syringe, which clinicians can use to inject the tag into the body.
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