3D Endoscopy Reveals Hidden Lesions

Genex Technologies, Inc., a property of Technest Holdings, Inc., has received an SBIR contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new way of viewing the small intestine. Cringe factor aside, the research promises to significantly advance the diagnosis and treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders and diseases. It is likely to find industrial applications as well.

Based on video capsule endoscopy, the 3D image data will help physicians locate the position of an intestinal lesion and measure its volume. According to Genex, conventional endoscopy tests, such as gastroscopy and colonoscopy, are effective for the upper or lower digestive tract, but are much less so in the 20 ft. of small intestine because endoscopic instruments are hard to control and manipulate in that region.

To overcome current limitations in medical endoscopic intervention, Genex is developing a novel 3D image processing technology with some clever capabilities and features:

  • 1. Reconstruction of the intestinal canal's configuration in 3D from video sequences captured by video capsules
  • 2. Postprocessing software tools to facilitate the storage and measurement of the reconstructed 3D image
  • 3. A simulation platform to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of the 3D algorithms

Contact Dr. Steven Yi, Director of R&D and Principal Investigator, Genex Technologies, Inc., Kensington, MD; [email protected], www.genextech.com.