ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Supported by the prolific Israeli accelerator MEDX, this start-up is improving the safety profile of endoscopic GI procedure ERCP.
When patients exhibit symptoms of pancreatic or biliary duct issues, which may include gallstones, cholecystitis, primary liver sclerosis, and choledocholithiasis, clinicians commonly employ a technique called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). ERCP combines endoscopy and X-ray imaging to examine and treat the ducts, typically taking 30-60 minutes under general anesthesia with about a day of recovery time required. Each year, around 2 million ERCP procedures are performed globally, constituting a market size of nearly $600 million.
One of physicians’ biggest challenges within ERCP is blindly navigating with the endoscopic guidewire the split path in the pancreato-biliary tree between the pancreatic and bile ducts, as contrast injections to the pancreas increase the risk of pancreatitis, which can be fatal in some cases. In addition, the current methodology of reaching the bile duct to remove blockages such as stones or tumors often requires a trial-and-error process, which can also result in tissue trauma and inflammation from repeated unintentional contact with the walls of the pancreatic duct. Among experienced surgeons, post-ERCP pancreatitis occurs in about 5-10% of cases, though that rate can be as high as 50% for less experienced cohorts.
Samer Abboud, CEO of SwiftDuct, explains that the pancreas and bile duct each secrete fluid into the duodenum to aid with digestion by breaking down proteins and stabilizing pH after food passes through the stomach. Aiming to provide gastroenterologists with an objective metric to guide ERCP and more smoothly navigate the challenging pancreato-biliary anatomy, SwiftDuct has devised a technology that can distinguish between the pancreatic and biliary fluids, thereby indicating proximity to either duct, simplifying the navigation challenge and mitigating the risk of pancreatic inflammation.