Development of a novel high resolution imaging diagnostic method for distinguishing between ganglionic and aganglionic bowel wall in children with Hirschsprung’s disease

Aim: To individualise and develop quicker, safer and precise diagnostics to improve surgical treatment of children with Hirschsprung’s disease by developing, validating and implementing novel ultra-high frequency ultrasonography (70MHz). The goal is to replace the current biopsy process with instant high-resolution precise imaging of the bowel wall.

The project organisation is multidisciplinary translational, involving paediatric surgeons, paediatric pathologists and world-leading engineers in ultra-high frequency ultrasound research.

The project is monitored from, and children included in, a national Hirschsprung’s disease centre collaborating internationally. Project areas are: 1. Morphological histo-anatomical bowel wall studies; 2. Clinical in- and ex-vivo ultrasound studies on fresh bowel during surgery; 3.

Computer programming in MATLAB for transferred histo-anatomical and ultrasound images of bowel wall for precise digitalised analyses of bowel wall; 4. Development of a small transducer. A pilot study has been published.

The time plan is: 2021-23 to include patients, collect histo-anatomical and ultrasound images, and establish MATLAB programs; 2022-24 to transfer and analyse the images in MATLAB programs; and 2025 finalisation, implementation and evaluation.

The significance is to establish a precise diagnostic method to delineate between different bowel wall characteristics, which will also have potential in other bowel conditions, i.e. inflammation or tumours.