Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) has launched a new pill cam for its patients in the country, with the initiative confirmed by PSH’s director and CEO, Parvish Kumar. The recently introduced capsule endoscopy system allows doctors to visualize the small bowel, which connects the stomach to the large intestine and plays a crucial role in digestion and metabolic processes.
This capsule endoscopy is designed to diagnose and monitor a variety of conditions affecting the digestive tract. The procedure requires patients to swallow a small capsule, comparable in size to a large vitamin pill. Kumar emphasized that “Capsule Endoscopy is a non-invasive method for our doctors to specifically visualize the small bowel, which is difficult to reach during other types of endoscopy.”
The capsule is equipped with a tiny camera and light source that captures images of the small intestine as it moves naturally through the digestive system. These images are transmitted to a recorder worn on a strap across the patient’s body, with a sensor belt facilitating the image transmission from the capsule to the recording system.
Pacific Specialist Healthcare has taken the lead in providing this advanced wireless recorder belt to patients. Capsule endoscopy is primarily used for detecting the causes of bleeding in the small bowel, diagnosing inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and screening for polyps or cancer within the digestive tract.
Bowel cancer ranks second in terms of cancer-related deaths in various countries, following lung cancer.
In a Q&A segment, it was explained that the entire procedure takes about 30 minutes at Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital. Once the sensor belt is affixed and the recorder is connected, patients can leave after swallowing the capsule. The test will last a few hours, during which individuals can continue with their normal daily activities.
Following the return of the recorder and sensors, images captured during the procedure will be downloaded for the doctors to review, after which patients will be contacted with their results.
Patients are reassured that they should not experience any pain or discomfort while swallowing the capsule or as it passes through their gastrointestinal tract. The capsule is designed to be disposable and will exit the body naturally through bowel movements.