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Capsule endoscopy
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Capsule endoscopy uses a pill-sized camera that is swallowed to photograph the digestive tract from the inside. It is a camera that takes the same trip as a bite of food, photographing the route.
As it moves along, it transmits images for hours, until its battery runs out. A trained gastroenterologist, the doctor who specializes in the digestive system, then sits down and reviews them one by one.
It is meant for looking, not for acting. It locates lesions in the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine and the colon, but it cannot take a biopsy or treat anything. Its most common use is gastrointestinal bleeding that keeps coming back and whose source was not found with the usual endoscopic procedures, which is called obscure bleeding.
In brief
Capsule endoscopy studies the digestive tract with a pill-sized camera that photographs the inside of the gut.
The patient swallows it and it transmits images for hours, until the battery runs out; a trained gastroenterologist then reviews them.
It is a camera that takes the same trip as a bite of food, photographing the route.
It is diagnostic only: it locates lesions in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon, but it allows neither biopsy nor treatment; its most common use is recurrent and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingCapsule Endoscopy, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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