Pill-Sized Camera Helps Patients Avoid Surgery
Mr. Leonard returned home and consulted with a gastroenterologist at Clark Memorial Hospital. The physician prescribed a colonoscopy and an EGD, neither of which revealed the cause of Mr. Leonard’s bleeding. At that point, the physician prescribed a new diagnostic test, the Pillcam™ SB capsule endoscopy.
“Conventional imaging tools have not been as effective in diagnosing problems in the upper intestine,” explains Pauletta Smith, director of endoscopy and ambulatory care at Clark Memorial Hospital. “Until now, exploratory surgery with a six week recovery would have been the next option for Mr. Leonard. Instead, the Pillcam™ SB capsule endoscopy allows the physician to examine the small intestine without invasive surgery.”
The Pillcam™ SB capsule is the size of a vitamin and provides physicians with pictures of the small intestine. The sleek, plastic capsule contains a tiny camera and a light source. The patient swallows the capsule with a glass of water. As the capsule moves through the body, the camera takes two pictures per second. The images are transmitted to a data recorder about the size of a Walkman attached to a padded waist belt that is worn by the patient. Several electronic leads are attached to the patient’s torso and capture the images transmitted from the camera. The patient wears the belt for about eight hours.
“While the capsule was taking pictures, I was able to go about my day,” says Mr. Leonard. “I could eat and drink with no problem. Overall, the belt didn’t really give me any problems.”
After the belt is removed eight hours later, the physician uploads the information from the data recorder to review the color images. More than 55,000 individual images are taken during the entire examination.
“The images are quite clear and allow me to see about 95% of the small intestine,” says Smith. The capsule assists physicians in diagnosing ulcers, tumors, leaky vessels, and inflammatory conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
The capsule leaves the body naturally with a bowel movement without causing any pain or discomfort for the patient.
Smith warns that not everyone is a good candidate for the Pillcam™ SB capsule. Patients with problems swallowing, intestinal narrowing, or pacemakers cannot have a capsule endoscopy. The procedure also cannot take the place of a colonoscopy, because the capsule does not take good pictures of the much wider space of the large intestine.
For more information on the Pillcam™ SB capsule, contact Clark Memorial Hospital at 283-2609.
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