n. A camera approximately the size of a vitamin pill that, when ingested, transmits images from a person's stomach and intestinal tract.
2003
This hi-tech video pill, developed by Israeli company Given Imaging, records footage from the inside of a patient's body to reduce the need for invasive surgery. The pill will especially be used for difficult conditions to assess such as intestinal disorders or bowel complaints.
2001
But endoscopes often can't reach all the way through the six-metre small bowel, meaning patients left without a diagnosis sometimes had to resort to exploratory surgery.
The video pill offers a pain-free alternative — and may show doctors some spots they've never been able to see because endoscopes couldn't fit into all the nooks and crannies.
The video pill offers a pain-free alternative — and may show doctors some spots they've never been able to see because endoscopes couldn't fit into all the nooks and crannies.
2000 (earliest)
In a stunning development, Scottish scientists recently announced that they have developed a prototype of a "video pill" that will detect cancer and other diseases as it travels through the body.
The Glasgow University scientists say the pill will carry a tiny video camera, capable of relaying pictures to diagnostic computers, alerting doctors to health problems.
The Glasgow University scientists say the pill will carry a tiny video camera, capable of relaying pictures to diagnostic computers, alerting doctors to health problems.
The video pill also goes by a few other names: camera pill, pillcam, M2A Swallowable Imaging Capsule, M2A capsule, and capsule endoscope. Given the latter, it will come as no surprise to hear that doctors call this procedure a capsule endoscopy. M2A, by the by, is short for "mouth to anus," since that's the route the video pill takes.