With EndoSure
You can be sure
How does EndoSure work?
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition. The endometriosis tissue produces a number of inflammatory mediators amongst which are the powerful prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF-2š¯›¼.
The prostaglandins are absorbed and then travel in the circulation to reach all parts of the body where they exert an effect. These mediators have a direct effect on the gut, regardless of the site of endometriosis and this causes recognisable changes in the electrical signals produced by the gut.
EndoSureā€™s tricorder uses unique technology to record electrical signals from the muscle of the small intestine. It produces a trace called an EVG or electroviscerogram, much like an ECG or electrocardiogram of the heart muscle. The prostaglandins PGE-2 and PGF-a cause alterations in intestinal motility leading to an alteration in electrical activity.
The electrical activity is picked up by the tricorder, decoded and converted into a visible trace with a characteristic fingerprint unique for endometriosis. The Tricorder uses sophisticated AI clinical decision support software to diagnose endometriosis based on the myo-electric signals.
A 30 minute recording of the intestinal myo-electrical pulses after drinking a large volume of water is all that is required to establish the diagnosis.
The technology has been around since the late 1990s and was first published in 1998. Dr Noar, one of the founders of EndoSure, presented the first paper demonstrating the characteristic changes in the EVG caused by endometriosis at a meeting of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy in 2022.
See our Science page for more details
How can an EndoSure test help me?
An EndoSure test will speed up the time to diagnosis of endometriosis, eliminating the need for a diagnostic laparoscopy.
If positive it will help you access specialist treatment at an endometriosis centre. Early diagnosis can facilitate medical treatment to prevent the condition and symptoms deteriorating or advancing.
If the test is negative it is unlikely that endometriosis is responsible for your symptoms and you can pursue appropriate treatment through other specialists.
EndoSure and Infertility
Endometriosis is found in up to 30% of women attending fertility clinics. It can delay conception in women trying to conceive naturally or with IUI, but it does not adversely affect your chance of conceiving with IVF, unless you have large ovarian endometriotic cysts visible at ultrasound scan.
So if you are trying to conceive and the EndoSure test is positive, you might be better off going straight for IVF rather than the lengthy treatment pathway associated with a laparoscopy and treatment of endometriosis and then trying to conceive naturally.
Endometriosis usually gets better whilst you are pregnant and for many women the symptoms do not return afterwards. For this reason, much of the medical treatment for endometriosis aims to replicate pregnancy.