CapsoVision (Saratoga, CA) won FDA clearance for its CapsoCam Plus swallowable capsule endoscope for imaging the small intestine. The device provides a 360º view of the bowels thanks to four cameras that capture photos as long as the pill is moving down the guts. Integrated flashes make sure the field of view is illuminated to see any abnormalities on the walls of the bowels.
The device doesn’t need any preparation prior to ingestion. It’s simply swallowed by the patient and later, when it’s time for it to come out the other end, a provided magnetic wand and plastic pan is used to fish it out of the stool. The device is then returned to the physician inside a locked container who places it into a special reader that downloads all the images from the capsule. The CapsoCam Plus is then disposed of and the images analyzed on a computer.
Competing products use forward looking cameras that provide a significantly different perspective. CapsoVision believes its approach will let physicians have easier time detecting anything that seems out of order. Unlike competing products that utilize a wearable receiver that collect photos as they’re taken inside the gut, the fact that the capsule needs to be retrieved and returned may pose a challenge to some patients.The company, though, says that in a study 80% of patients surveyed preferred CapsoCam’s retrieval method over the competitors. Considering the rapid advancement of technology, we expect wireless data transmission to be integrated into future versions of the CapsoCam.
Here’s a company promo video introducing the CapsoCam Plus:
Product page: CapsoCam Plus…
Source: CapsoVision…