PillCam

(am vazut la Realitatea TV finalul unui un mic reportaj, apoi am cautat si ceva scris...)

The Procedure

A person must fast for 10 hours prior to undergoing capsule endoscopy for the small intestine, but can eat four hours after swallowing the capsule. Lewis says he schedules patients early in the morning, so they can eat lunch and dinner. Wire leads with sensors on the end are affixed to the patient's abdomen and connected to a data-recording device worn on a belt around the waist.

The PillCam SB takes about eight hours to move through the small intestine, taking two pictures per second with its single camera. During this time, the person can leave the doctor's office and go about a regular routine while wearing the sensors and recorder. Later, the person returns to hand over the sensors and data recorder. The physician downloads about 57,000 color images into a computer, which compresses them to form a video. The physician then views the video on a monitor to determine the next step in treatment.

A two-hour fast is required before taking the PillCam ESO, which views the esophagus. Wire leads with sensors are placed on the patient's chest and connected to a recording device. The person swallows the capsule with water while lying flat on the back. Every two minutes over a six-minute period, the person is raised by 30-degree angles until sitting upright, then remains upright for an additional 15 minutes to make sure the capsule has traveled through the entire esophagus.

The gradual rise to a sitting position slows down the movement of the PillCam ESO, giving it additional time to take pictures. In contrast to the PillCam SB, which moves slowly through the snake-like turns of the small intestine over several hours, the PillCam ESO "moves through the esophagus in minutes," says Cooper. Given Imaging added a second miniature camera to the ESO capsule, putting one camera at either end, to take about 2,600 total color images of the esophagus.