Video pill shrinks cancer detection technique

A novel take on the concept of video endoscopy could improve detection of cancer in the throat and digestive system. Developed at Glasgow University, the technique uses a diagnostic technique that was previous too bulky to be installed in a swallowable device.

Video endoscopy is a technology that is still in its early stages, using a very small video camera with integrated lighting and electronic transmission all encapsulated into a capsule small enough for a patient to swallow and to travel through the digestive system sending back images to a clinician. It is being developed to detect cancers, injuries and lesions within the digestive system without the need for the often-traumatic technique of endoscopy, where a camera on the end of a flexible, steerable rod is inserted into the patient’s throat or rectum to image the upper or lower gastrointestinal duct. But even with its undoubted potential, video endoscopy is limited: it can only detect what can be seen using visible light.