Pill Endoscopy
March 19, 2013 | Terry Sharrer
Acid reflux, particularly in men, erodes the esophagus, leading to precancerous Barrett’s esophagus, and, if unresolved, to malignancy. Endoscopy for Barrett’s requires sedation, but engineers at Massachusetts General Hospital have devised a camera pill on a tether that physicians can use to image the esophagus wall in greater detail than with high resolution endoscopy. The pill has a rotating laser tip that beams near infrared light on the tissue and a sensor which records of light’s reflection. Patients undergoing this procedure did not require sedation. MORE