Martin P Mintchev

Howard Payne University

A series of recent pipeline leakage incidents created severe societal concerns to a point of impeding, or even completely preventing, building new pipelines in North America. Various systems have been proposed to identify and locate leakages. However, despite the fact that pipelines remain the safest means of oil and gas transportation, incidents s...

A sock for blood testing administered from the foot of an animal, including human, is disclosed. The sock embeds at least one blood sensor which can measure at least one blood analyte. The device is capable of measuring, processing and reporting one or more blood analytes in-situ.

The present invention provides method and apparatus for minimally-invasive capillary blood extraction comprising an apparatus capable of the harnessing the energy from frequent natural mammalian movements and then converting it into forces needed to execute skin lancing, specifically an insertion of a lancet in the body of the mammal. The apparatus...

The path of an idea from the first moment it has been conceived to successful entry to the information and communication technology market has been veiled in mystery for years. Although bits and pieces of that path, along with the amazing stories of successful academic entrepreneurs, have been widely publicized, a coherent, comprehensive and org...

AIM To enhance the clinical utility of electrogastrography (EGG), which has been recorded since 1922, but is clinically unutilized. METHODS An innovative method to salvage the promise of EGG is proposed by introducing a preliminary procedure, while maintaining the electrodes, standardized equipment, and signal processing utilized in the well-estab...

Gastrointestinal (GI) impedance carries useful information about the physiology of GI organs. This chapter presents the development and applications of impedance measuring techniques for the diagnosis of diseases affecting different GI organs. Following this, several new concepts of encapsulating catheter-based GI monitoring systems are introduced,...

This paper discusses the design of a new actuator mechanism for the e-Mosquito, an autonomous wearable blood glucose monitoring system with autonomous insertion of single-use needles. The actuator converts tensile force from a contracting shape memory alloy wire into non-linear extension of a needle from a casing and allows both needle and casing t...

In this paper, we present a wearable microsystem for minimally invasive, autonomous and pseudo-continuous blood glucose monitoring that addresses growing demand for replacing tedious fingerpricking tests for diabetic patients. Unlike the prevalent solutions that estimate blood glucose levels from interstitial fluids or tears, our approach uses a no...

In the recent years horizontal drilling (HD) has become increasingly important in oil and gas exploration because it can increase the production per well and can effectively rework old and marginal vertical wells. The key element of successful HD is accurate navigation of the drill bit with advanced measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tools. The size...

This paper presents a novel minimally-invasive catheter-based acoustic interrogation device for real-time monitoring the dynamics of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Dysfunction of the LES could result gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). A micro-oscillator actively emitting sound wave at 16 kHz is lo...

This article proposes a novel cuff-based microactuator for automatic blood extraction using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) technology. It aims to provide an actuator solution for an electronic mosquito-like device, e-Mosquito, which enhances blood glucose measurement to off the potential to significantly improve both the quality of life for diabetic pati...

A method and apparatus for magnetically levitating and further steering of an intraluminal device, such as a swallowable microelectronic capsule, for monitoring bodily functions is provided. The method comprises diamagnetically-stabilized levitation, followed by dynamic modification of the external magnetic field producing the said levitation, so t...

Transcutaneous intraluminal impedance measurement (TIIM) is a new method to cutaneously measure gastric contractions by assessing the attenuation dynamics of a small oscillating voltage emitted by a battery-powered ingestible capsule retained in the stomach. In the present study, we investigated whether TIIM can reliably assess gastric motility in...

Wireless capsule endoscope technology has been used to image portions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, particularly the small bowel. However in other GI organs, especially those having larger-lumens, the capsule may become destabilized and tumble, precluding meaningful interpretation of the acquired images. The present invention describes a meth...

A device for delivering a substance in situ in a body comprising at least one permeable expandable container having a first dimension and a second dimension and having contained therein the substance to be delivered; and at least one expandable particle comprising a swellable material contained within the container and capable of expanding when con...

This paper presents novel minimally-invasive, catheter-based acoustic interrogation device for monitoring motility dynamics of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). A micro-oscillator actively emitting sound wave at 16 kHz is located at one side of the LES, and a miniature microphone is located at the other side of the sphincter to capture the soun...

Conventional methods in multilateral drilling processes incorporate magnetometer-based surveying systems for determining the position and attitude of the bottomhole assembly (BHA). Magnetic surveying results in an increased weight of the BHA, higher cost due to shielding with bulky nonmagnetic collars and, more importantly, severely degraded perfor...

Orally administrable polymer-carrying units for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying units including: a carrier; a plurality of polymer molecules expandable in aqueous solutions, releasably coupled to the carrier; and means for selectively decoupling the polymer molecules from the carrier so that t...

The stomach plays a critical role in digestion, processing ingested food mechanically and breaking it up into particles, which can be effectively and efficiently processed by the intestines. When the motility of the stomach is compromised, digestion is adversely affected. This can lead to a variety of disorders. Current diagnostic techniques for ga...

The severe conditions of the drilling environment greatly limit technical options available to the equipment designer. Some desirable options cannot be used simply because they are too large for the restricted diameters available in drilling tools. Drilling would greatly benefit from inertial navigation solutions, but suitable conventional componen...

Semi-invasive blood sampling devices mimic the way female mosquitoes extract blood from a host. They generally consist of a microneedle, a microactuator for needle insertion, a blood extraction mechanism and a blood glucose sensor. These devices have great potential to overcome the major disadvantages of several current blood glucose monitoring met...

An orally administrable implement for expanding in a stomach of an animal, including a mammal, to fill a space in the stomach, is provided for weight control. The implement includes: a fluid-permeable expandable container having a first dimension and a second dimension; and a plurality of clusters comprising a swellable material contained within th...

GROWING WORLDWIDE OBESITY EPIDEMIC HAS PROMPTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO MAIN TREATMENT STREAMS: (a) conservative approaches and (b) invasive techniques. However, only invasive surgical methods have delivered significant and sustainable benefits. Therefore, contemporary research exploration has focused on the development of minimally invasive gastric...

Capsule endoscopy is a noninvasive method for examining the small intestine. Recently, this method has been used to visualize the colon. However, the capsule often tumbles in the wider colon lumen, resulting in potentially missed pathology. In addition, the capsule does not have the ability to distend collapsed segments of the organ. Self-stabilizi...

Gastrointestinal (GI) auscultation (listening to sounds from stomach and bowel) has been applied for abdominal physical assessment for many years. This article evaluates the technique involved in listening to both bowel and stomach sounds and the significance of both normal and abnormal GI auscultation findings. Moreover, intraluminal ultrasonic te...

In recent years, pseudobezoars have been a subject of research, mainly serving as a basis for a new non-invasive alternative to obesity treatment. A pill incorporating the technology has been proven to be successful as a weight loss therapy. It enables patients to sustain a diet longer, due to an increase in the level of satiety, resulting in a sma...

To investigate the performance of a new software-based colonoscopy quality assessment system. The software-based system employs a novel image processing algorithm which detects the levels of image clarity, withdrawal velocity, and level of the bowel preparation in a real-time fashion from live video signal. Threshold levels of image blurriness and...

The growing worldwide obesity epidemic has prompted the development of two main treatment streams: 1) conservative approaches and 2) invasive techniques. However, only invasive surgical methods have delivered significant and sustainable benefits. Therefore, contemporary research exploration has focused on the development of gastric volume reduction...

Methods for volumetric monitoring of liquid gastroesophageal reflux (GER) are still lacking. The aim of this study was to develop an automated intraluminal measurement technique which allows ambulatory volumetric quantification of liquid GER utilizing a minimum-cost intraluminal ultrasonic probe. This probe consists of two 2 MHz ultrasonic crystals...

To compare larger diameter corkscrew-tined leads with previously described intracardiac pacing leads for temporary gastric neurostimulation in a canine model. Two mongrel dogs underwent gastroscopy under general anesthesia, with endoscopic placement of two cardiac leads (1 mm tine diameter, 4 mm depth) placed sequentially in 1) transverse configura...

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is a noninvasive method for examining the gastrointestinal tract which has been successful in small intestine studies. Recently, VCE has been attempted in the colon. However, the capsule often tumbles in the wider colonic lumen, resulting in missed regions. Self-stabilizing VCE is a novel method to visualize the colon...

Functional neural gastrointestinal electrical stimulation (NGES) is a methodology of gastric electrical stimulation that can be applied as a possible treatment for disorders such as obesity and gastroparesis. NGES is capable of generating strong lumen-occluding local contractions that can produce retrograde or antegrade movement of gastric content....

Background: Gastric electrical stimulation (GES) is an avenue for treating gastroparesis and obesity by controlling gastric motility using electrically mediated gastric contractions. Neural gastrointestinal electrical stimulation (NGES) is a GES modality capable of producing strong lumen-occluding local gastric contractions. Conversely, Enterra ™...

Conventional methods in horizontal drilling processes incorporate magnetic surveying techniques for determining the position and attitude of the bottom-hole assembly (BHA). This results in an increased weight of the drilling assembly, higher cost due to the use of nonmagnetic drill collars necessary for shielding the magnetometers, and significant...

This work reports on the progress and development advances in the design of self-stabilizing capsules for imaging the lower part of the gastro-intestinal tract, namely the large intestine (the colon). Macro-level design is reviewed, and the new miniaturized design and its components are described. Preliminary performance results are discussed.

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has become a popular non-invasive technique to study the small intestine. However, colonic VCE has been problematic due to capsule tumbling in the larger lumen of this organ. Self-stabilizing VCE is a novel method to visualize the colon without tumbling utilizing a biomimetic approach. The proposed design uses the free...

Invasive surgical procedures for gastric volume reduction or bypass have been considered the most effective approach to sustainable long-term weight reduction. However, non-invasive techniques for dynamic volume reduction from inside the stomach are lacking. The aim of this study was to propose temporary, permeable, controllable pseudobezoars for n...

Neural Gastrointestinal Electrical Stimulation (NGES) is a new microprocessor-based method for invoking gastric or colonic contractions by generating multi-channel, high energy, high frequency waveforms. It has been shown that when applied to the lower stomach, NGES offers the possibility for enhancing propulsive peristalsis for the treatment of ga...

Microprocessor-controlled multi-site functional gastric electrical stimulation using synchronized higher frequency (above 25 Hz) bipolar voltages has been suggested as a possible new avenue towards efficient artificial control of gastric motility. However, the effect of this sequential stimulation on gastric electrical activity is unknown. Because...

Controlled navigation promotes full utilization of capsule endoscopy for reliable real-time diagnosis in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but intermittent natural peristalsis can disturb the navigational control, destabilize the capsule and take it out of levitation. The focus of the present work was to develop an economical and effective real-time...

Neural gastric electrical stimulation (NGES) is a new method for invoking gastric contractions under microprocessor control. However, optimization of this technique using feedback mechanisms to minimize power consumption and maximize effectiveness has been lacking. The present pilot study proposes a prototype feedback-controlled neural gastric elec...

To evaluate whether changes in gastric myoelectrical activity in healthy, awake dogs can be detected via multichannel electrogastrography (EGG). 6 healthy hound-breed dogs. For each dog, 8-channel EGG was performed after food had been withheld for 12 hours and at 30 minutes after subsequent feeding; 60 minutes after feeding, atropine (0.04 mg/kg) w...

Gastric electrical stimulation modulates lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP). High-frequency neural stimulation (NES) can induce gut smooth muscle contractions. To determine whether lower esophageal sphincter (LES) electrical stimulation (ES) can affect LESP, bipolar electrodes were implanted in the LES of four dogs. Esophageal manometry dur...

To evaluate whether changes in myoelectrical activity in the cecum and large colon of horses can be detected via multichannel electrointestinography (EIG). 6 healthy mature horses. Each horse underwent 3 EIG procedures. Intestinal myoelectrical activity (cecum and large colon) was recorded during a 20-minute period following i.v. administration of...

Neural gastric electrical stimulation (NGES) could be a new technique for treating obesity. However, chronic animal experimentation exploring the efficacy of this therapy is lacking. In this study we investigated the utility of retrograde NGES in a chronic canine model. Nine mongrel dogs (26.8 +/- 5.2 kg) underwent laparoscopic implantation of 2-ch...

Neural Gastric Electrical Stimulation (NGES) is a new method for invoking gastric contractions under microprocessor control. However, optimization of this technique using feedback mechanisms to minimize power consumption and maximize effectiveness has been lacking. The present work proposes a prototype feedback-controlled neural gastric electrical...

Twenty-four-hour ambulatory pH monitoring is an essential tool for diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Simultaneous impedance and pH monitoring of the esophagus improves the detection and characterization of GERD. Conventional catheter-based monitoring systems are uncomfortable and interfere with the normal activity of the patient. T...

Navigation performance is an important factor in horizontal directional drilling. In-drilling alignment (IDA) was previously suggested to improve downhole navigation performance when utilizing an inertial navigation system (INS). It was shown that the IDA process enhances the ability to estimate INS bias and drift errors and, particularly, their az...

Contemporary surveying in measurement-while-drilling (MWD) processes incorporates measurements from three-axes accelerometers and magnetometers. Unfortunately, magnetometer-related problems limit the navigation performance of this technique. The introduction of fiber-optic-gyroscope (FOG)-based inertial navigation system (INS) in MWD aims at overco...

Manipulation of gastric motility by gastric electrical stimulation (GES) has been suggested as a minimally invasive alternative treatment of gastric motility disorders and obesity. However, only neural GES (NGES) has been successful in invoking gastric contractions. Nevertheless, the relationship between these contractions and the controlling NGES...

Functional electrical stimulation has been suggested as a possible avenue for treating a variety of gastrointestinal motility-related disorders such as gastroparesis, chronic constipation and morbid obesity. The aims of the present study were to design a radio-frequency controlled multi-channel implantable neural gastrointestinal electrical stimula...

Neural gastrointestinal electrical stimulation (NGES) induces sequential contractions and enhances emptying in acute canine gastric and colonic models. This study was set to determine (i) the effect of NGES in a chronic canine model of delayed colonic transit and (ii) possible mechanism of action. Four pairs of electrodes were implanted in the dist...