You might have noticed that every video technology out there is rapidly becoming HD compatible. Now it’s the turn for camera pills to deliver HD video imaging. Camera pills, best represented by PillCam devices from Given Imaging, are used for capturing images inside the gastro-intestinal tract to detect abnormalities, especially in the areas of the tract in which endoscopy is not an option. Researchers from various Norwegian universities have now collaborated to engineer an HD camera pill .
The new camera pill will employ wireless ultra-wideband technology with enough bandwidth to handle live, high-quality video transmission of observations from the intestine. Therefore, the amount of data to be transmitted needs to be significantly compressed. The pill will also communicate its coordinates via radio so that doctors can pinpoint its location in the body.
The researchers have now developed a technology for transmitting the radio waves through the many layers of tissue to an antenna which is placed against the skin. Some equipment has already been tested on pigs and the results look promising. They show that it is possible to receive good, strong video signals if the transmitter is located within a depth of 5cm inside the body. The new pill also needs to be provided with a good battery to power the device and a bright light source to make a film of the intestines.
Preliminary results look promising and the team is still working very hard on the development of this device. So, someday in the near future we will be able to see full HD video streaming from inside our intestines. For now we only have a video of the insertion of the transmitter into a pig.
Press release: Full HD in a pill
