EVT24: Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy
- Program: Mechanical Engineering
- Course: EN.530.404 MechE Senior Design
Project Description:
The EVT24 team designed, fabricated, and tested a device and novel procedure that uses Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy (EVT) to safely and effectively resolve anastomosis and heal perforations in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Perforations in the GI tract occur during common bariatric procedures and cause anastomosis that can be deadly to patients. Inserting stents is a common treatment for perforations, but these often migrate from their original region of deployment and fail to heal the perforation. EVT involves inserting a vacuum tube with a sponge or gauze envelope attached to its end into the GI tract and navigating it to the perforation. The device and procedure produced reliable results with significant reductions in deployment time and risk to the patient.
Project Photo:
Testing the deployment of the EVT24 sponge with an endoscope. The sponge is compressed in a dissolvable casing and will expand to block lesions in the esophagus.
