The Wireless Capsule: New Light in the Darkness

Abstract

The development of wireless capsule endoscopy offers the potential to examine the whole small intestine, with its 5-meter length, and has the advantage of being painless. Using a miniature CMOS camera and a short focal length lens, images are obtained, as the optical window of the capsule sweeps past the gut wall, without requiring air inflation of the gut lumen. The capsule endoscope is propelled by peristalsis through the gastrointestinal tract. The video images are transmitted using radiotelemetry to an array of aerials attached to the body which allows image capture. The images are stored on a small portable recorder carried on a belt and subsequently downloaded for analysis. The system allows more than 7 h of continuous recording of images of the gastrointestinal tract. The patients are free to continue their daily routine during the examination. The capsule endoscope has performed well in trials in patients with difficult gastrointestinal bleeding and in comparative studies with push enteroscopy. It has received both a CE mark and FDA approval for use in patients. It has been used to date in about 4,000 patients. The current clinical data are reviewed.

Gastroenterologic and Radiologic Approach to Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding: How, Why, and When?

“…To reduce this risk, patients with high suspicion of bowel narrowing (history of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use, Crohn disease, occlusive symptoms, or ischemic bowel disease) should undergo capsule endoscopy only after undergoing other techniques, such as CT enterography-enteroclysis, small bowel series, or exploration with a patency capsule (38).…”

The feasibility of wireless capsule endoscopy in detecting small intestinal pathology in children under the age of 8 years: a multicentre European study

“…Since the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of WCE in patients >10 years in 2001 the technique has been shown to be a safe with no pain and few complications 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. The knowledge obtained since its introduction has provided new insights into a variety of diseases15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and has altered the management of patients with small intestinal diseases previously investigated with little success by a variety of endoscopic and radiological techniques 3 9 14 15…”

Locating Intra-Body Capsule Object by Three-Magnet Sensing System

“…The system by Given Imaging Ltd. includes a localization module [10], [11] based on the strength of radio frequency (RF) signals emitted by the capsule and received by eight antennas on the exterior of the human abdomen. Because the RF system is also used to transmit the examination information (e.g.…”