Page 57 - Flexible Robotics in Medicine

Cable-driven flexible endoscope utilizing diamond-shaped perforations: FlexDiamond 41

Both direct and indirect approaches require a skilled physician to administer. The latter
method is more conclusive and has been widely used for the nasopharynx. The distal tip
of a nasopharyngoscope or nasal endoscope is inserted into the nasal passage through the
nostril to have unobstructed viewing of the nasopharynx. A typical nasopharyngoscope has
a viewing angle of 85 degrees, which helps the clinician detect NPC in the nasopharynx
region. Regular posttreatment check-ups are essential for early diagnosis of recurrent NPC.
However, regular check-ups may be inconvenient, time-consuming, expose cross-infection
risks in case of infectious respiratory disease outbreak, and increase the burden of the
health care sector. Hence there is a need to develop a home-based, self-administered
nasopharyngoscope for the patient to operate from the comfort of their homes, to encourage
continual surveillance of NPC recurrence.

3.1.2 Unmet needs

Locally, research shows that nasopharynx cancer ranks eighth among the top 10 most
frequent cancers occurring for males in Singapore and seventh among the top 10 most
frequent cancer deaths to males in Singapore from 2009 to 2013 (Table 3.1). NPC proves
to be a deadly form of cancer, and early diagnosis of NPC is required for patients to seek
treatment as soon as possible. However, NPC does not cause symptoms early on,

Table 3.1: Tabulation of the anatomical research findings from previous sections.
Asians (Malay, Indian, Chinese)
Male Female
Gender
Young (6 12 Young (6 12
Age years old) Old years old) Old
Length of a nasal B90 100 B90 100
inlet to nasopharynx (25 years old) (20 40 years old)
(mm)
Cross-sectional area 247 384.48 417.37 451.24 275 388.28 429.66 460.08
of nasopharynx (13 18 years old) (13 18 years old)
2
region (CSA1) (mm )
Sagittal diameter 14.32 16.21 16.85 18.848 14.03 16.37 17.22 18.39
of nasopharynx (13 18 years old) (13 18 years old)
(SD1) (mm)
Transverse diameter 19.12 21.81 B24.43 19.01 23.40 24.19 24.50
of nasopharynx (13 18 years old) (13 18 years old)
(TD1) (mm)
Volume of 2817.76 4177.52 4388.34 5181.17 2477.52 3866.11 4382.03 5263.61
nasopharynx (V 1 ) (13 18 years old) (13 18 years old)
3
(mm )
Nasolabial angle