CHICAGO, April 29 (UPI) -- A pill-sized camera can help doctors diagnose diseases of the esophagus.
Doctors at Rush University Medical Center, the first hospital in Chicago to offer the alternative to endoscopy, say the procedure is much quicker and easier. With endoscopy, patients must be sedated and need several hours of recovery, while with the camera, they can get back to normal activities as soon as the procedure is completed.
In the new procedure, the patient swallows a smooth capsule which takes 14 pictures a second while passing through the esophageal tract. The images are transmitted to a recording device attached to a belt around the patient's waist.
In about 20 minutes the camera has transmitted 2,600 images, which can be evaluated for signs of gastroesophageal reflux disease, erosive esophagitis and the pre-cancerous Barrett's esophagus.
Doctors say that the procedure is likely to encourage more people to get examinations of the esophagus, catching problems when they can be treated easily.
