Oh, patents! SXSW 2021 EndiaTX Pillbot™ pitch

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann 

Feeling bloated? Difficulty performing the Halasana, Karnapisana and Salamba Sarvamgasana yoga poses (i.e., plow, ear-to-knee and supported shoulder stand sequence of poses)?  If it’s more than temporary, your doctor might one day take a peek inside your GI tract, using EndiaTX’s endoscopic Pillbot™. One tiny endoscopic bot, one giant step for patients, since the procedure is designed to take place remotely, from the comfort of home.  In other words, the patient swallows the Pillbot™, linked remotely via magnetic field, enabling a doctor (or specialized technician) to take over to guide the little robot’s explorations through the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, jejunum and larger colon, not only taking pictures, but eventually marking territory, delivering medication, perhaps taking biopsies and removing polyps, becoming a Pillbot™ surgeon. Indeed, Tx in EndiaTx's pill designation is definitely intended to mean Treatment vs. Rx for Prescriptions. 

One miniature multivitamin-sized Pillbot™, one giant step also for endoscopic research, since the previous generation of non-propelled endoscopic pills took forever to make their way, naturally-unaided, through the GI track. A lengthy journey, during which the pill-cam would take thousands of non-targeted pictures that would then have to be retrieved and processed for diagnostic purposes. A process, following which traditional endoscopic procedures might then potentially be scheduled to perform various follow-up interventions. In contrast, the EndiaTx Pillbot™ is powered with 4 pump-jet propellers, enabling it not only to move faster, but also to have forward and backward thrust, as well as pitch, roll and yaw. It is also remotely connected, which enables medical professionals; and/or operators to target their interventions within the body. Interventions, which are planned to include any one of the traditional endoscopic procedures. Thus, the EndiaTX Pillbot™ is a huge improvement, in more ways than one, on the previous state of the endoscopic pill-cam art.

The EndiaTX endoscopic Pillbot™ invention was pitched at the South by South West (SXSW) 2021  Conference and Exhibit Pitch Awards, held this year exclusively online, for the first time in the thirty-four year history of the multi-venue, technology, music, comedy, and film event, on March 16-20^th 2021. A combination, Conference, Exhibit and Festival event, where EndiaTx was selected as finalist, in the Health, Wearables and Wellbeing category, one of eight award categories, of the technology awards.

Various embodiments of the EndiatX Pillbot™ invention are recited in the US patent application US20200405132A, titled Ingestible device with manipulation capabilities. The abstract of this invention is included below, together with the patent drawings, Figures 6C  and 13 of the Pillbot™, respectively showing a rear propulsion view, and endoscopic intervention tools mounted on the payload section of the ingestible Pillbot™, opposite the propulsion end.  A corresponding image of the trademarked Pillbot™ is also included above. 

Specifically, Figure 6C depicts 4 rotors 604a-d, propulsing the ingestible Pillbot™. The rotors are arranged radially in pairs, opposite each other, in a cross configuration, relative to the central axis of the Pillbot™. The two sets of rotors 604a-b and 604c-d, each driven by a separate motor or a single motor converting power to each pair, might be configured to rotate respectively clockwise and counterclockwise. Thus, the position and orientation of the Pillbot™ might be controlled in ways similar to a quadcopter, adjusting pitch and roll by applying more thrust to one or two adjacent rotors and less thrust to a diametrically opposing rotor. Likewise, hovering is possible when equal thrust is applied to all four rotors, while yaw is adjusted by applying more thrust to rotors rotating in the same direction [0082-0088].

Figure 13, depicts some of the endoscopic tools used to manipulate structures in a living body, in other words, structures forming the environment surrounding the ingested Pillbot™. Specifically, Figure 13 shows a perspective view of the ingestible device 1300, with a plurality of endoscopic intervention tools 1304a-d at the proximal end of a payload capsule 1302. The endoscopic intervention tools may complement each other. They may be used for grasping, cutting, cauterizing, sampling and more. In particular the ingestible device 1300 includes: a biopsy mechanism 1304a, a delivery mechanism 1304d, and a pair of grasping mechanism 1304b and c. The biopsy mechanism 1304a  is designed to obtain samples from the living body, in view of detecting presence, cause, or extent of a disease. The delivery mechanism 1304d is designed to store materials, such as medication, cauterization agents, radiation enhancement agents, and inks. The grasping mechanism 1304b and c, respectively includes a manipulator arm 1304b and a polypectomy tool 1304c. The ingestible device 1300 also depicts a camera 1306, designed to take images before, during, and after interventions. The intervention tools might be arranged radially in an even or uneven manner around the camera 1306 [0121-0125]. Together, these intervention tools transform the endoscopic pill into a treatment Pillbot™ surgeon. The first in-human trial was launched on June 27 2020 (Staff, The Founder Institute)

Introduced here is an ingestible device that can comprise a capsule, an intervention tool, and a processor configured to controllably employ the intervention tool to manipulate structures in a living body. The ingestible device may further comprise a camera that is configured to generate images of various in vivo environments as the ingestible device traverses the living body. These images may be wirelessly transmitted to an electronic device located outside of the living body to enable greater control over the intervention tool. [Abstract US20200405132A]

References

EndiaTx (website) https://endiatx.com/home/

Hess, H. (March 20-2021) SxSW 2021 winners revolutionize common-sense solutions to tomorrow's problems https://www.sxsw.com/news/2021/sxsw-2021-pitch-winners-revolutionize-common-sense-solutions-to-tomorrows-problems/

Staff (Jun, 27 , 2020) Endiatx First-In-Human Trial: Watch Pill-Sized Robot Actively Navigate & Capture Video Inside GI Tract. The Founder Institute. https://fi.co/insight/endiatx-first-in-human-trial-pill-robot-navigates-and-captures-video-inside-gastrointestinal-tract

SXSW https://www.sxsw.com/ 

SXSW Award Pitch finalists https://www.sxsw.com/awards/sxsw-pitch/#finalists

Oh, patents! The colonoscopy pill

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann Question:  How do you combine a patent translation blog with a medical translation one? Answer: The colonoscopy pill!  A colonoscopy is an endoscopic, medical imaging procedure, where a long flexible tube, called an  endoscope, measuring 48 to 72 inches and equipped with a light and a video camera is inserted through the rectum to examine the lining of the large intestine called the colon, and sometimes the lower part of the small intestine called the ileum. The colonoscopy is designed as a screening test, where bleeding may be detected; small growths, called polyps may be removed; and biopsies of any abnormal tissues may be performed. The whole procedure takes about 20 minutes to an hour, and is performed under new anesthetics called conscious sedation. The colonoscopy has become almost a “rite of passage” in the US for the 50 something crowd as the CDCs (Centers for Disease Control) recommend colonoscopies every 10 years beginning at age 50 to 75 as part of routine colorectal cancer screening procedures. The risks of traditional colonoscopy include perforation of the intestinal lining and incomplete viewing or blind spots. And the disadvantages include the costs of a procedure that includes sedation, the discomfort of bowel preparations, and imperfect detection. Imagine now… a colonoscopy pill! One such colon imaging device or endoscopy capsule, called an “Ingestible device platform for the colon”, is the invention recited in US Patent Application 2005/0266074 A1, filed by Spectrum Dynamcs, Inc. The colonoscopy pill or capsule endoscopy is less invasive, even if it still requires bowel preparation. Below, the abstract of the patent and the patent drawing of the expanding and contracting pill, are included.  Abstract 2005/0266074 A1 Ingestible device platform for the colon An ingestible pill platform for colon imaging is provided, designed to recognize its entry to the colon and expand in the colon, for improved imaging of the colon walls. On approaching the external anal sphincter muscle, the ingestible pill may contract or deform, for elimination. Colon recognition may be based on a structural image, based on the differences in diameters between the small intestine and the colon, and particularly, based on the semilunar fold structure, which is unique to the colon. Additionally or alternatively, colon recognition may be based on a functional image, based on the generally inflammatory state of the vermiform appendix. Additionally or alternatively, pH, flora, enzymes and (or) chemical analyses may be used to recognize the colon.; The imaging of the colon walls may be functional, by nuclear-radiation imaging of radionuclide-labeled antibodies, or by optical-fluorescence-spectroscopy imaging of fluorescence-labeled antibodies. Additionally or alternatively, it may be structural, for example, by visual, ultrasound or MRI means. Due to the proximity to the colon walls, the imaging in accordance with the present invention is advantageous to colonoscopy or virtual colonoscopy, as it is designed to distinguish malignant from benign tumors and detect tumors even at their incipient stage, and overcome blood-pool background radioactivity   In practice, however, research is inconclusive on the advantages of capsule endoscopy, as the capsule does not seem to pick up on adenomas as well as more conventional methods of endoscopy, and most importantly the time involved to interpret and analyze the images taken by the pill platform is far greater (Ussui,, 2012). Pill colonoscopy also does not enable concomitant therapeutic intervention, or local cleansing for better visualization.  References CDC - Colorectal Cancer Screening guidelines http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/basic_info/screening/guidelines.htm Ussui, V. M (2012) Advances in colonoscopy. Discov Med13(71):313-321, April 2012. http://www.discoverymedicine.com/Vivian-M-Ussui/2012/04/24/advances-in-colonoscopy/