Details.
A pill-sized video capsule containing a colour camera, battery, light source and transmitter is swallowed to investigate the small bowel. The camera takes two pictures per second for 10 hours and transmits images to a data recorder worn around the waist. The capsule moves naturally through the digestive tract and is passed naturally in a bowel movement. The recording device is removed at the endoscopy suite approximately 10 hours after ingestion, and the images are evaluated by a consultant. It can help investigate bleeding, malabsorption, chronic abdominal pain, iron deficiency anaemia, suspected inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease and chronic diarrhoea. A dummy capsule may occasionally be required to test whether the actual capsule can travel through the intestines. Risks include the capsule not reaching the colon or becoming stuck, inadequate images requiring a repeat procedure, and a possible X-ray within one week if the capsule remains in the small intestine.
