Universal Mobile Device Adapter for Endoscopic Image Capture

Background & Unmet Need

• Endoscopes are essential tools in medicine for minimally invasive viewing of anatomic structures, medical abnormalities, and surgical interventions
• Generally, endoscopes come with a light source, camera cord, and computer processor, which are often stored together in a mobile tower
• However, these large towers are often difficult to transport, and may cause difficulty in settings where endoscopes must be mobile, such as inpatient or emergency care
• Moreover, health providers with limited resources, such as those in low- to middle-income countries, may not be able to afford these devices altogether
• Mobile devices are ubiquitous and have built in high-resolution cameras and advanced processing capabilities
• Unmet Need: Adapters allowing for use of mobile devices to record endoscopic images

Technology Overview

• The Technology: Portable and universal adapters for capturing endoscopic images on any mobile device
• A team at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital has created universal endoscope adapters which utilize the video capture and storage capabilities of any mobile device
• One version is a phone adapter that allows attachment of a telescope for optical magnification; a second version allows for recording without a telescope; a third version uses an external camera with cord that plugs into laptops and tablets.
• Adapters can be easily attached to the back of any smartphone case or plugged into any laptop/tablet.
• PoC Data: Prototypes have been generated and tested using an iPhone and Microsoft Surface
• Preliminary testing indicates that the adapters can capture high quality endoscopic images, and quality control studies are planned to confirm usability

Technology Applications

• Capturing endoscopic images in emergency settings where devices need to be promptly deployed
• Capturing endoscopic images in inpatient settings wherein patients’ movement is restricted due to immobility or unstable medical condition
• Use in low-resource medical facilities, such as in low- to middle-income countries
• Use in military or field hospital settings

Technology Advantages

• Mobile phone adapter is universal for all smartphone brands and models that have a sufficient camera and does not need to be redesigned for future phone releases
• Adapters work with tablets and laptops, enabling larger screens to be used to improve visualization of endoscopic images

Figure: Universal scope adapter with (A) and without (B) telescope for optical magnification.