PSH Enhances Services with New Pill Cam
“The capsule contains a tiny camera and light source that takes pictures of your small intestine as it travels naturally through your digestive tract.
Monday 09 September 2024 | 10:52
Patient (first from left) with Clinical Director Dr Sanson Fousaga (sitting) and PSH Research and Development Team Head Solomone Suguta.
Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) has introduced a new pill cam for its patients in the country.
PSH director and chief executive officer Parvish Kumar confirmed the cam pill was introduced recently and so far, the results have been a success.
The capsule endoscopy system is an ingestible tiny capsule that lets your doctor visualise the small bowel, the small intestine that connects the stomach to the large intestine and aids in digestion and other metabolic processes.
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Capsule endoscopy can be used to diagnose and monitor various conditions in your digestive tract.
The procedure involves swallowing a small capsule, which is the same size as a large vitamin capsule.
“Capsule Endoscopy is a non-invasive way for Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital doctors to visualize specifically the small bowel, which is unreachable during other types of endoscopy procedures, “Mr Kumar said.
“The capsule contains a tiny camera and light source that takes pictures of your small intestine as it travels naturally through your digestive tract.
“The images are then transmitted to a recorder that you wear on a strap across your body. A sensor belt helps transmit these images from the capsule into a recording system.”
Pacific Specialist Healthcare pioneer patients with the wireless recorder belt.
Capsule endoscopy is for the following conditions:
• Finding the cause of bleeding in the small bowel: this is the most common reason for a capsule endoscopy.
•Diagnose inflammatory bowel diseases: such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
• Screen for polyps and diagnose cancer: to look for potential polyps or tumors in the digestive tract.
Bowel cancer death is second after lung cancer for cancer related deaths in some countries.
Q & A:
Q: How long does the procedure take?
A: You will typically spend approximately 30 minutes at Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital to start the procedure.Once the sensor belt is placed on your abdomen, the recorder is connected, and after you have swallowed the capsule, you can leave. The test lasts for a few hours during which you can do your normal work.
Q: What happens after I return the recorder and sensors to Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital?
Images captured in the recorder during your procedure will be downloaded from the recorder to a computer and our doctors will view them in a colour video. Afterwards, you will be contacted with the results.
Q: Will I feel any pain or discomfort from the capsule?
A: No. You should not feel any discomfort when swallowing the capsule or while it moves through your GI tract. The capsule is disposable and passes naturally with your bowel movement.
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