Title: Post-Operative Ileus Sound-based Evaluation (POISE)
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: Background & Opportunity Bowel surgery, for example to treat bowel cancer, can be a daunting experience that requires a period of several days recovery in hospital. Immediately after surgery, the bowel slows down and does not process food and drink as well as it normally does. This usually lasts for 3-4 days but for one-in-five patients this period is prolonged and causes distressing side-effects including pain, bloating and nausea. The medical term for this condition is &ldquo;ileus&rdquo;. It is difficult to predict which patients will experience ileus; doctors and nurses rely on asking patients whether they have passed wind or visited the toilet to determine if the bowel has started to work again. The uncertainty causes delayed treatment for patients who develop ileus and longer hospital stays for those who do not. It also causes additional anxiety for patients during an already extremely stressful time. POISE technology aims to bridge the recovery monitoring gap. Solution POISE consists of a simple, non-invasive device which is coupled to the patient s tummy area using a skin-safe adhesive patch and connects wirelessly to specialised software. The device has been designed with a focus on hygiene and is easy to clean. When attached to the stomach, the POISE system monitors acoustic emissions (sound waves) which are naturally generated as the muscles of the bowel contract and relax. After surgery, these emissions occur much less frequently but as the bowel begins to recover, they start to return. The POISE system takes continuous measurements and provides real-time information to the medical team about how the bowel is recovering. For the first time it will be possible to diagnose ileus at an early stage and to personalise patients care according to their individual needs. This will enable patients developing ileus to receive prompt, proactive help and healthy patients to progress faster with key recovery milestones, for example eating, and to return home earlier. The POISE project will mature hardware and software in support of early clinical trials and will produce robust working devices. The consortium will gain insights from patients who have experienced bowel surgery, the public and nurses to ensure that our technology is simple and unobtrusive to use. Impact POISE aspires to deliver a step-change to the accepted standard of care following bowel surgery. With improved patient outcomes it is expected that healthcare providers implementing POISE will be able to safely reduce the number of days healthy patients need to stay in hospital. This will drive numerous tangible benefits including reduced healthcare costs related to caring for patients in hospital.

Lay abstract: Background & Opportunity Bowel surgery, for example to treat bowel cancer, can be a daunting experience that requires a period of several days recovery in hospital. Immediately after surgery, the bowel slows down and does not process food and drink as well as it normally does. This usually lasts for 3-4 days but for one-in-five patients this period is prolonged and causes distressing side-effects including pain, bloating and nausea. The medical term for this condition is &ldquo;ileus&rdquo;. It is difficult to predict which patients will experience ileus; doctors and nurses rely on asking patients whether they have passed wind or visited the toilet to determine if the bowel has started to work again. The uncertainty causes delayed treatment for patients who develop ileus and longer hospital stays for those who do not. It also causes additional anxiety for patients during an already extremely stressful time. POISE technology aims to bridge the recovery monitoring gap. Solution POISE consists of a simple, non-invasive device which is coupled to the patient s tummy area using a skin-safe adhesive patch and connects wirelessly to specialised software. The device has been designed with a focus on hygiene and is easy to clean. When attached to the stomach, the POISE system monitors acoustic emissions (sound waves) which are naturally generated as the muscles of the bowel contract and relax. After surgery, these emissions occur much less frequently but as the bowel begins to recover, they start to return. The POISE system takes continuous measurements and provides real-time information to the medical team about how the bowel is recovering. For the first time it will be possible to diagnose ileus at an early stage and to personalise patients care according to their individual needs. This will enable patients developing ileus to receive prompt, proactive help and healthy patients to progress faster with key recovery milestones, for example eating, and to return home earlier. The POISE project will mature hardware and software in support of early clinical trials and will produce robust working devices. The consortium will gain insights from patients who have experienced bowel surgery, the public and nurses to ensure that our technology is simple and unobtrusive to use. Impact POISE aspires to deliver a step-change to the accepted standard of care following bowel surgery. With improved patient outcomes it is expected that healthcare providers implementing POISE will be able to safely reduce the number of days healthy patients need to stay in hospital. This will drive numerous tangible benefits including reduced healthcare costs related to caring for patients in hospital.

Research activity codes: 5.4 SURGERY
Health categories: ORAL AND GASTROINTESTINAL