Medical knowledge and technology sure has come a long way from the ancient times where sickness was attributed to the devil and his cohort, and in this day and age where going under the knife often meant saving a life, the PillCam Colon 2 makes its appearance, going one up on its predecessor of the same name (sans the progression in number, of course). This endoscopic capsule was specially designed for imaging of the large intestine, and has picked up European approval recently, having been unveiled at the Gastro 2009 Conference in London, England.
During the presentation of the PillCam Colon 2, independent investigators presented results of a 98-patient feasibility study that involved the ingestion of this particular medical marvel. The conclusion that these investigators came to was the PillCam Colon 2 is a “safe and effective method to visualize the colon and detect colonic polyps.” To add further weight to its effectiveness, an article discussing the study has been accepted for the December 2009 edition of the journal Endoscopy. Compared to colonoscopy, the PillCam Colon 2 pointed towards a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 76% in detecting polyps greater than or equal to 6 mm and a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 89% in detecting polyps greater than or equal to 10 mm.
Apart from its seemingly higher degree of accuracy when it comes to detecting polyps of various sizes compared to a regular colonoscopy, the PillCam Colon 2 also offers the fringe benefits of not requiring the use of sedation, intubation or air insufflation during the procedure, which ought to give patients a sigh of relief – at least for those who are afraid of going through the regular rigors of a colonoscopy. This convenient method of visualizing the colon relies on bi-directional communication between the PillCam Colon 2 and the DataRecorder, allowing it to track the capsule’s motion in the GI tract in order for the image capture rate to be adjusted to maximize colon tissue coverage.
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