Development of an instrument system for measuring the internal pressure of the small intestine using an ileus tube

Ishikawa, Noriko; Oka, Kiyoshi; Naganawa, Akihiro*; Yoshino, Junji*; Wakabayashi, Takao*; Watanabe, Shinya*; Naito, Takehito*

Instruments for measuring the internal pressure of digestive organs are used for diagnosing functional diseases, judging how critical the condition is, and deciding the treatment method or determining the degree of alleviation. However, the technique wherein the internal pressure of the small intestine is measured is highly invasive and painful for patients, and the insertion of the catheter via transducers is not preferred because it involves the insertion of an electric instrument in the body. In this study, we developed a system that measures the pressure of the small intestine with an ileus tube, which is generally used for the treatment of ileus. The main feature of our system is that can be used to measure internal pressure without the insertion of electric instruments such as transducers into the body, allowing the assessment of ileus without causing pain to the patient being treated. In this note, we present a brief description of the structure and function of this instrument used to measure the internal pressure of the small intestine.