Study Supports Using Camera to Explore Bowels

[Guest guest]

Study Supports Using Camera to Explore Bowels

Tue Dec 3,10:07 AM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A pill-sized camera that can be swallowed and can

explore parts of the small intestine that other diagnostic techniques miss,

allows for improved detection of inflammatory bowel disorders, researchers

reported on Tuesday.

Researcher Amy Hara of the Mayo Clinic in sdale, Arizona, said tests on

52 patients using the camera -- a technique called capsule endoscopy -- did

a far better job of detecting bowel abnormalities than did computed

tomography in conjunction with ingested barium, a standard method known as

CT.

In a report released at the annual scientific assembly of the Radiological

Society of North America, Hara said the camera shows the most promise for

diagnostics if used with CT.

" As the camera tumbles through the intestine, you don't know exactly where

the mass is located. CT by contrast provides a very good global view of the

body and specialized parameters can be employed to localize lesions, " she

said.

The report said endoscopy, in which a fiber optic scope explores the

intestines, can reach only the upper and very lower portions of the small

intestine. The camera pill, by contrast, can explore its entire length, up

to 25 feet.

The camera is inside a pill the size of a large vitamin capsule. Developed

in Israel and approved for use in the United States last year, it is

swallowed by the patient after an eight-hour fast and eliminated about eight

hours later. During its trip through the intestines it transmits a

continuous stream of digital images to a small belt worn around the

patient's waist.

The camera pill used in the study was developed by Given Imaging Ltd., of

Yoqneam, Israel.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease, cause a swelling in

the intestines leading to pain, diarrhea and other problems.

[Guest guest]

This has got to be sooooo much better than having a colonoscopy (even spell

check doesn't know).

[ ] Study Supports Using Camera to Explore Bowels

Study Supports Using Camera to Explore Bowels

Tue Dec 3,10:07 AM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A pill-sized camera that can be swallowed and can

explore parts of the small intestine that other diagnostic techniques miss,

allows for improved detection of inflammatory bowel disorders, researchers

reported on Tuesday.

Researcher Amy Hara of the Mayo Clinic in sdale, Arizona, said tests on

52 patients using the camera -- a technique called capsule endoscopy -- did

a far better job of detecting bowel abnormalities than did computed

tomography in conjunction with ingested barium, a standard method known as

CT.

In a report released at the annual scientific assembly of the Radiological

Society of North America, Hara said the camera shows the most promise for

diagnostics if used with CT.

" As the camera tumbles through the intestine, you don't know exactly where

the mass is located. CT by contrast provides a very good global view of the

body and specialized parameters can be employed to localize lesions, " she

said.

The report said endoscopy, in which a fiber optic scope explores the

intestines, can reach only the upper and very lower portions of the small

intestine. The camera pill, by contrast, can explore its entire length, up

to 25 feet.

The camera is inside a pill the size of a large vitamin capsule. Developed

in Israel and approved for use in the United States last year, it is

swallowed by the patient after an eight-hour fast and eliminated about eight

hours later. During its trip through the intestines it transmits a

continuous stream of digital images to a small belt worn around the

patient's waist.

The camera pill used in the study was developed by Given Imaging Ltd., of

Yoqneam, Israel.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease, cause a swelling in

the intestines leading to pain, diarrhea and other problems.