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"Camera Pill" Provides Easy Alternative
to Endoscopy
Patients with symptoms of esophageal disease often find endoscopy hard to swallow. The traditional procedure involves inserting a long tube down the throat, and most patients require a sedative that causes them to lose a day of work.
According to Colm O’Loughlin, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin gastroenterologist, a newer alternative is capsule endoscopy. In this procedure, the patient swallows a tiny digital camera shaped like a capsule. As it travels down the esophagus, the “camera pill” takes 14 pictures per second and beams them to a wireless receiver. A computer then assembles the images into a digital movie. Dr. O’Loughlin says the 30-minute procedure requires no sedation and allows diagnosis of a number of diseases, including a pre-cancerous condition known as Barrett’s esophagus.
Source: Froedtert Today Date: March 2006 |