Pill-sized imaging device could improve Barrett's screening

Researchers at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed an imaging system enclosed in a small capsule that creates detailed, microscopic images of the oesophageal wall.

The system is claimed to have several advantages over traditional endoscopy.

‘This system gives us a convenient way to screen for Barrett’s that doesn’t require patient sedation, a specialised setting and equipment or a physician who has been trained in endoscopy,’ said Prof Gary Tearney of the Wellman Center and the MGH Pathology Department and corresponding author of a report on the development in Nature Medicine. ‘By showing the three-dimensional, microscopic structure of the oesophageal lining, it reveals much more detail than can be seen with even high-resolution endoscopy.’

The system developed by Tearney and his colleagues involves a capsule containing optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) technology, a rapidly rotating laser tip emitting a beam of near-infrared light and sensors that record light reflected back from the oesophageal lining.