British researchers are developing a pill-sized camera that can look for cancer inside the gastrointestinal tract and transmit pictures to a physician's computer, the London Daily Mail reports.
The tiny device can capture up to 40,000 images inside of the intestines, and the researchers predict it could save thousands of patients from painful biopsies or investigative cancer surgeries. The new camera pill will be able to pass through the body naturally, according to the Daily Mail.
The European Union has spent about $2.3 million to fund the research, which is based on existing camera technology, called PillCam, and is already used in some National Health Service hospitals to detect illnesses such as Crohn's disease.
PillCam captures pictures of inflammation in the lining of the colon, while the new device will analyze fluids emitted by tissues to detect if cancer is present. The device also will search for cancer by emitting light and analyzing the way it is reflected by tissues in the stomach. Physicians viewing the results on a computer screen will be able to stop the device in certain places in the digestive tract to examine the tissue, the Daily Mail reports.
Scientists are experimenting with controlling the device through magnets and special grippers that can be activated by an electrical signal outside the body. The current version of the device moves through the body via muscle contractions in the digestive tract, so it cannot be controlled (Hagan, London Daily Mail, 1/30).