George Washington University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind magnetic pill camera that can be “driven” inside the body. Although there are similar designs used in the past that allow controlled observations, the new device stands out as the first device that can be controlled and offers real-time interior visibility. Previous similar cameras used the digestion process to move the camera.
In endoscopy procedures, a flexible tube is usually inserted down the patient’s throat while they are under anesthesia. This operation is expensive and invasive, and requires many surgical facilities and personnel to perform it properly. But with a pill camera, the process can become much simpler. Thanks to these devices, patients only need to swallow the pill and do not need anesthesia to complete the procedure.
Often, such “capsule endoscopies” require doctors to wait for the body’s natural digestive process to move the pill. But with this new magnetic pill camera, doctors will be able to perform what researchers call magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (MCCE), and magnets will move the camera along the digestive tract.
This tiny camera was produced in partnership with medical technology company AnX Robotica. The device houses a small camera that can only shoot 640x480P. After swallowing the pill, which the researchers call NaviCam, the patient is placed on a special examination bed, where magnets come into play.
Once the process is complete, the magnetic pill camera can pass through the rest of the digestive tract as normal as any other pill can and be ejected out of the body.
It is not yet clear when this pill camera will become widely available. However, the researchers think that this process will not take long.
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