Endoscope in a Pill

Historically, diagnosis of digestive diseases has required the use of an endoscope – a flexible tube fitted with a light and a camera that allows physicians to examine internal organs. Although it’s technically a nonsurgical technique, it does require anesthetizing the patient, making it expensive and impractical for use in remote areas of the world where digestive diseases are most prevalent.

This led a pathologist/engineer to develop a pill-sized device that can carry out an internal exam in an office setting. It’s tethered to a console that enables the clinician to control its position. Using technology known as micro-optical coherence tomography (µOCT), the device can inspect the properties of living tissue at a microscopic level. With the addition of high-resolution optical imaging technologies, it can capture surface images at the cellular level, making it possible to diagnose many diseases without the need for biopsies.

This technology has application in examining many other areas of the body, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, and pancreas. The swallowable capsule has been named one of the Top 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2019 by MIT Technology Review.