System Design and Experimental Research of Lower Esophageal Sphincter Manometry Based on Balloon Catheter

Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) manometry provides a promised assessment of the cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In this paper, a balloon LES manometry system was designed for measuring the LES pressure (LESP) by using a balloon catheter. The balloon LES manometry system is composed of a balloon dilation catheter, a pressure detecting and recording module, and an automatic pull-through module. The forces of LES are applied to the air-filled balloon and the air pressure change is detected by an external pressure sensor. The pressure data obtained by the pressure detecting and recording module is shown and recorded within the LabVIEW platform. An automatic pull-through module was designed to replace the traditional manual pull-through method for the convenience of the operator and decreasing the hand fatigue. Six bench testing results demonstrated a high linearity (r≥;0.99) of the system with a sensitivity of 1.028 mmHg response per 1kPa of the applied pressure. The repeatability error was 4.82% and a resolution of 0.75mmHg. Also, the experiments were applied on five rabbits. The LES pressure measured by the proposed LES manometry system achieved good linear correlation (r=0.975) with the pressure measured by a commercial water-perfused catheter manometry system. In conclusion, the proposed LES manometry system is suitable for LES manometry and has the advantages of low cost and small size.