# Dye-free, multimodal, quantitative imaging to assess bowel perfusion during laparoscopic colorectal resection

> **NIH NIH R41** · OPTOSURGICAL, LLC · 2021 · $256,579

## Abstract

Anastomotic leak (AL) is a serious complication of intestinal surgery, with many potential causes. 
This complication carries with it a reported mortality ranging from 6 to 39%. The best time to 
prevent a possible AL is during its creation in the operating room. A leak can occur due to a 
technical error, but frequently it occurs as a consequence of poorly vascularized intestine. 
Creating a healthy and safe intestinal anastomosis requires a good blood supply to the two ends of 
bowel to be joined. The tools for diagnosing well-perfused bowel intraoperatively are limited 
 and often rely on the subjective evaluation of the surgeon. This is problematic especially in 
circumstances in which the bowel appears to be "dusky" or threatened but not clearly necrotic. The 
surgeon can utilize serosal visualization and palpation of the mesenteric vessels, but this fails 
to evaluate the micro-perfusion of the intestine itself. In addition, most of the research on 
adoption of laparoscopic techniques in colorectal surgery shows increased rates of use (55.4% of 
the total of 309,816 patients who underwent elective colon resection between 2009 and 2012 
were performed minimally invasively). However, techniques using laparoscopic surgery or 
minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can be even less reliable for determining bowel viability 
due to lack of gross palpation.
In this research, we propose to develop a dye-free, multimodal laparoscopic imaging system for the 
 quantitative assessment of bowel perfusion for precise surgical guidance during 
laparoscopic (and open) intestinal surgery. Optosurgical, LLC is a small business that 
has established a strong partnership with researchers at Children's National Hospital, 
where expert clinicians and engineers will provide requisite clinical insight on the 
full development, preclinical validation, and clinical translation of the proposed technology 
from the bench to the operating room.
The goal of this 1-year research proposal is to develop and evaluate the novel multimodal imaging 
camera system for laparoscopic anastomosis through the following specific aims; Aim 1: To prototype 
the multimodal camera system and integrate the system into a commercially available 
laparoscope; Aim 2: To validate the system pre-clinically in a swine model of in vivo intestinal 
ischemia (n=12).
Upon successful completion of this STTR Phase 1 project, we will proceed with the Phase 2 studies, 
wherein we will prepare a clinical grade device and execute animal studies using a swine model with 
statistical validation, followed by a pilot clinical study on human subjects. This new optical 
imaging technology holds great promise for evaluating bowel perfusion and potential intrinsic 
intestinal disorders with the goal of reducing postoperative morbidity/mortality and second-look 
operations for suspected intestinal leaks.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10383413
- **Project number:** 1R41DK131650-01
- **Recipient organization:** OPTOSURGICAL, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard Jaepyeong Cha
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $256,579
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10383413

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10383413, Dye-free, multimodal, quantitative imaging to assess bowel perfusion during laparoscopic colorectal resection (1R41DK131650-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10383413. Licensed CC0.

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