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No more pain thanks to 'pill' camera that took photos of my insides
Sophie Goodchild, Health Editor22 Jul 2008
A teenager has overcome serious illness with the help of a miniature camera "pill" that travels through the body detecting disease.
Demelza James, 18, spent five years with crippling abdominal pain because doctors could not work out the cause of her health problem.
But experts at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital discovered the teenager had Crohn's disease - an inflammation of the gut that can lead to severe weight loss - using the £400 revolutionary gadget.
After being swallowed by the patient like a normal pill, the 3cm-long device takes photographs of the inside of organs. This enables doctors to see parts of the body that have previously been impossible to reach.
Its help in diagnosing Ms James has enabled her to manage her condition for the first time.
Ms James, from Brixton Hill, said that when her pain first started it only lasted a couple of days but by the end she was doubled over and unable to do anything.
"It was such a relief to finally have a diagnosis," she said.
"It's a very cool piece of equipment - I've had every test available but this was the best and also the least invasive.
"Because it showed exactly where it [the inflammation] was in my intestine they were able to decide which medication was most suitable."
Guy's and St Thomas' has pioneered the use of the pill, which is like a miniature digital camera, to detect conditions such as bowel tumours and aggressive cancers. Until now, doctors have used cameras on flexible tubes - or endoscopes - but these cannot reach the tightly coiled recesses of the small intestine.
This means patients have been given barium to swallow and then had an X-ray taken, although the result is only a poorquality image.
The disposable camera pill is fitted with a light and a radio transmitter which allows a near perfect-view of the inside of a patient's organs.
The camera sends 50,000 still images from its journey through the body to a small recording device worn on the patient's belt.
Staff then download the results on to a computer after eight hours and examine them to check for images of bleeding or swelling.
Ms James was the 500th patient at the hospital to be given the treatment. Dr Simon Anderson, who treated her, said the device was playing an increasingly vital role in helping doctors improve diagnoses and save lives.
He said: "Previously these patients may have suffered for years or more before the cause of their bleeding or pain was discovered."
Reader views (3)
Ah, so chronic abdominal pain is not all in the head then. Please forward this to all GPs and Gastroenterologists.
- Jp, London, 22/07/2008 23:46
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Great news - now let's get it available at all hospitals.
- Jj, Cambs, 22/07/2008 13:10
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Brilliant - Well Done.
- Prof Coston, Sidcup - Kent, 22/07/2008 11:17
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