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Validation of an Acoustic Gastrointestinal Surveillance Biosensor for Postoperative Ileus

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Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

Postoperative ileus (POI) can worsen outcomes, increase cost, and prolong hospitalization. An objective marker could help identify POI patients who should not be prematurely fed. We developed a disposable, non-invasive acoustic gastro-intestinal surveillance (AGIS) biosensor. We tested whether AGIS can distinguish healthy controls from patients recovering from abdominal surgery.

Study Design

AGIS is a disposable plastic device embedded with a microphone that adheres to the abdominal wall and connects to a computer that measures acoustic event rates. We compared intestinal rates of healthy subjects using AGIS for 60 min after a standardized meal to recordings of two postoperative groups: (1) patients tolerating standardized feeding and (2) POI patients. We compared intestinal rates among groups using ANOVA and t tests.

Results

There were 8 healthy controls, 7 patients tolerating feeding, and 25 with POI; mean intestinal rates were 0.14, 0.03, and 0.016 events per second, respectively (ANOVA p < 0.001). AGIS separated patients from controls with 100 % sensitivity and 97 % specificity. Among patients, rates were higher in fed versus POI subjects (p = 0.017).

Conclusion

Non-invasive, abdominal acoustic monitoring distinguishes POI from non-POI subjects. Future research will test whether AGIS can identify patients at risk for development of POI and assist with postoperative feeding decisions.

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Conflict of Interest

This study was conducted with funding from the Principal Investigators (B.S. and W.K.). The technology described in this study was developed by B.S. and W.K. and is managed by the UCLA Office of Intellectual Property (OIP). At the time of this study, UCLA submitted a patent application and was evaluating university in-licensing options. The authors did not receive outside funding to conduct this study. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the sole views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Marcia M. Russell

  2. Department of Medicine, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel, Marc Kaneshiro, Anish Patel, Samuel E. Cohen, Mark W. Reid & Jennifer Talley

  3. UCLA Wireless Health Institute, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, Los Angeles, USA

    Vincent Zegarski, Digvijay Singh & William Kaiser

  4. Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

    Marcia M. Russell & Anne Lin

  5. Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel, Marc Kaneshiro & Vartan C. Tashjian

  6. Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel, Anish Patel & Samuel E. Cohen

  7. Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel

  8. UCLA/VA Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CORE), Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel, Mark W. Reid, Cynthia B. Whitman, Jennifer Talley & Bibiana M. Martinez

  9. Division of Gastroenterology, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA

    Brennan M. R. Spiegel

  10. Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angles, Los Angeles, USA

    William Kaiser

Authors
  1. Brennan M. R. Spiegel
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  2. Marc Kaneshiro
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  3. Marcia M. Russell
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  4. Anne Lin
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  5. Anish Patel
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  6. Vartan C. Tashjian
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  7. Vincent Zegarski
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  8. Digvijay Singh
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  9. Samuel E. Cohen
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  10. Mark W. Reid
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  11. Cynthia B. Whitman
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  12. Jennifer Talley
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  13. Bibiana M. Martinez
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  14. William Kaiser
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Brennan M. R. Spiegel or William Kaiser.

Additional information

This study was presented as an abstract at the 2014 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago, Illinois.

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Spiegel, B.M.R., Kaneshiro, M., Russell, M.M. et al. Validation of an Acoustic Gastrointestinal Surveillance Biosensor for Postoperative Ileus. J Gastrointest Surg 18, 1795–1803 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-014-2597-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-014-2597-y

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