Endoscopic capsule for colon cancer

• April 25, 2024

The endoscopic colon capsule is an innovative instrument of millimeter size that allows to diagnose, in a precise way, diseases like Cancer , ulcers , diverticula Y polyps (injuries) in colon .

This technology is applied in the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). In this regard, the doctor Clara Luz Martínez García, head of the Endoscopy Service of the Regional General Hospital "Dr. Carlos Mac Gregor Sánchez Navarro, "noted that in this hospital, from 2007 to date, 45 cases of patients with diverse pathologies in the colon .

Martínez García explained that the endoscopic colon capsule is a small computerized attachment (32 x 11 x 5 millimeters), with integrated accessories to visualize the colon :

"It has a 10-hour battery, captures four images per second, as well as an external recording and reception unit. The patient ingests the small capsule as if it were a pill and it begins to travel through the small intestine until it reaches the colon .

Innovating in health

During its journey, the capsule is capable of taking up to 150 thousand photographs. The images are transmitted through antennas that receive them and send by radiofrequency to the data recording unit; These are emptied into the work station for review by specialized software.

The study, explained Dr. Martínez García, allows to monitor the progress of the capsule in real time, through a computer that is connected during the procedure, and that the doctors of the endoscopy service can perform a periodic monitoring of the progress of this tool.

The patient, for nine hours, should walk constantly, since in case the capsule does not move correctly, he is contacted by the medical staff of the service to prescribe medicines that help to accelerate the advancement of the capsule .

Once the procedure is finished, the capsule is removed by the rectal anus, in an average of 24 to 48 hours, without complications, it is designed with materials that do not attack the digestive tube .

The colonic capsule does not supplant the study of colonoscopy , but complements it. The indication for the use of the capsule is well defined in patients with a history of colon cancer that require periodic monitoring.