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8 November 2009
Capsule endoscopy is the procedure where a small capsule containing an imaging system (camera) was ingested by a patient like a regular pill to visualise the small intestine.
It is less invasive than the traditional endoscopy or colonoscopy and explores all the rest of the intestines.
It effectively diagnoses diseases such as anaemia, diarrhoea, celiac diseases, polyps inflammatory bowel disease, (Crohn’s disease), ulcers, tumours of the small intestine and occult bleeding, where normal endoscopy cannot reach.
“We were the first to start capsule endoscopy in the UAE in January 2009. And since then we treated around 35 patients,” Major General Khalil Dawood Badran, director general of Finance and Services at the Abu Dhabi Police, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Conference for Capsule Technology (ADCCE) on Saturday.
According to experts who presented at the conference, capsule endoscopy is an easy procedure. The optical capsule is taken orally with water. A belt, which has four sensors inside its packet, is wrapped below the patient’s umbilicus. The sensor is then connected to the data recorder, which is also held by the belt, and receives images from the optical capsule.
A blue flashing light at the data recorder indicates that it is receiving recording from the capsule which was activated before the patient swallowed it. This wireless device was introduced only recently and the UAE was among the first five countries in the world that uses this wireless technology, said Major General Badran
“We started the wireless device two months ago,” he said. Previously, the data is recorded using eight leads connected to the chest similar to the electrocardiogram (ECG).
Professor Dr Guido Costamagna, president of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, said the first prototype of the capsule came out in 1998 and in 2000.
Costamagna said there are three types of optical capsules — for the small bowel, oesophagus and colon. The average size for a small bowel capsule is 26mm x 11mm, depending on the manufacturer.
“The capsule is made of plastic material and has no side effect on the patient,” he said. After between 8-10 hours, the capsule naturally comes out through defecation.
According to Costamagna, capsule endoscopy in Italy costs between 400-550 euros.
