Pill Camera Could Diagnose Cancer


What if swallowing a pill could save your life?Modern medicine is offering that hope in a pillcam that detects diseases in the small intestines.

"We can make diagnosis of bleeding, lesions, early tumors, some malignant, and narrowing of other types of diseases," said Dr. Marc Taormina with Midwest Gastroenterology Center.

Taormina said one of the most common problems the pillcam detects is Crohn's disease.

KMBC's Lara Moritz wanted to experience the pillcam, so she swallowed one and was hooked up to computer sensors.

Mortiz wore the sensor pack for eight hours while the camera captured more than 55,000 images.

"The capsule is disposable. Once the capsule has reached its battery life, it stops transmitting and leaves the body through a normal bowel movement," Taormina said.

Taormina examined the pictures from Moritz's intestines.

"You can see there's a little red spot. It does look a little abnormal," Taormina said.

Taorminathought the spot indicated acid reflux, which Moritz admitted she has. It's nothing serious, but it could turn into something serious if not detected early.

Doctors believe the Food and Drug Administration will soon approve a colon pill, which will be a less invasive procedure than the standard colonoscopy.

Taormina said the thinks the colon pill will eventually detect polyps before they become cancerous.

He said he expects the FDA to approve the colon pill by the end of 2008.

Taormina said he thinks it's a procedure that won't be as off-putting as a traditional colonoscopy.

"What it will do is it will allow more patients who are eligible to be screened for colon cancer to actually be screened," Taormina said.

Moritz said the only inconvenient part of the pillcam is the preparation. The patient has to drink half of a jug filled with liquid that will clean you out the day before you ingest the pill.

Moritz reported that some insurance companies cover the pillcam. If you have to pay out of pocket, it will cost about $800.







Channel: News
Uploaded: May 17, 2008 at 1:54 am
Author: kmbctv

Length: 00:03:10
Rating: 4.67
Views: 1297

Tags: intenstine detection camera cancer diagnose KMBC colon City Kansas pill

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