State of the art inside view, the camera pill

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Scallan, R.

Affiliations: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Ireland. Tel.: +353 86 8048980; E-mail: roisinscallan@gmail.com

Abstract: Capsule endoscopy, known as the camera pill, is a pain-free minimally invasive method of visualising the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and has now been in use for over ten years. It has become the gold standard in diagnostics for small bowel disorders but has been shown to be clinically less valid in use for screening of the colon and other parts of the digestive tract. There are five principal limitations of capsule endoscopy: lack of propulsion, inability to take a biopsy or deliver direct therapeutic intervention, imaging and localization. Significant advancements have been made regarding locomotion, localization and imaging which are likely to be commercially available in the short term. Further refinement is needed with current innovations regarding additional diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities before being more widely adopted in clinical use.

Keywords: Bowel, capsule endoscopy, diagnostic, gastrointestinal, imaging, localisation

DOI: 10.3233/THC-161149

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 471-481, 2016