Project Description: 

In the United States this past year, colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. To put that into perspective, 1 in every 20 people will get colon cancer in their lifetime. Of these cases, about 20% were preventable if polyps, or precancerous masses, were completely removed. Currently, polyp removals are done during colonoscopies. The two main types of polyps that exist are pedunculated ones, which extrude upwards from the colon wall, and sessile, or flat ones, which extend along the surface. These polyps are removed using two current instrument types- snares and forceps. Snares perform like wire lassos that surround a polyp to slice it for removal. This technique however cannot remove a sessile mass well, due to a lack of friction between the snare and the mass and lack of dimensionality. The second state-of-the-art device is the forceps, which has a clawlike mechanism to bite into polyps for removal in multiple chunks. When multiple bites are required, this can lead to more incomplete resection and cancer cases.
Therefore, there is a need for a better polyp removal instrument can completely resect sessile polyps. To address this need, we have designed the Polypick. Our device first grips the polyp with the forceps grasper portion. Once gripped, we designed a tenting mechanism, which is able to raise a flat polyp to increase its dimensionality and allow for easier removal. Once raised, the snare is able to slice the raised base for more complete removal.
The PolyPick is creating value in a field and business that is upwards of 850 million in the US. Additionally, by reducing further checkups with complete polyp resection, we can save patients upwards of 80,000 dollars. With our solution, we hope to relieve the burden of preventable colon cancer diagnoses.