Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Capsule Endoscopy

Pill-sized camera produces images of the small intestine

Capsule endoscopy is a procedure that expands Mayo's capabilities to detect unexplained bleeding and other gastrointestinal problems. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001.

Approximately the size of a large vitamin, the capsule includes a miniature color video camera, a light, a battery and transmitter. Images captured by the video camera are transmitted to a number of sensors attached to the patient's torso and recorded digitally on a recording device similar to a Walkman that is worn around the patient's waist.

The patient swallows the capsule with a drink of water. After about eight hours (the time it takes for the capsule to move through the small intestine) the recorder is removed from the patient and the information it contains downloaded onto a computer for examination.

Capsule endoscopy not a substitute for regular endoscopy, a procedure in which long flexible black tubes with lights are inserted through the mouth and into the digestive tract. Rather it serves as an additional diagnostic tool for patients who have been suffering from unexplained GI disorders, such as bleeding. It can also be used to evaluate conditions of the small bowel that cause diarrhea, pain or weigh loss, such as Crohn's Disease.

Capsule endoscopy enables physicians to look at the entire 30 feet of the small intestine, not just the four to five feet that can be visualized with other types of endoscopy. Physicians now can identify conditions that traditional endoscopy could not visualize and, thus, more accurately and aggressively determine the course of treatment for patients.