Wireless capsule endoscopy: perspectives beyond gastrointestinal bleeding.
Wireless capsule endoscopy (CE) is a technology developed for the endoscopic exploration of the small bowel. The first capsule model was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, and its first and essential indication was occult gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Over subsequent years, this technology has been refined to provide superior resolution, increased battery life, and capabilities to view different parts of the GI tract. Indeed, cases for which CE proved useful have increased significantly over the last few years, with new indications for the small bowel and technical improvements that have expanded its use to other parts of the GI tract, including the esophagus and colon. The main challenges in the development of CE are new devices with the ability to provide therapy, air inflation for a better vision of the small bowel, biopsy sampling systems attached to the capsule and the possibility to guide and move the capsule with an external motion control. In this article we review the current and new indications of CE, and the evolving technological changes shaping this technology, which has a promising potential in the coming future of gastroenterology.
Eduardo Redondo-Cerezo, Endoscopy Unit, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Virgen de Las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain.
Eduardo
E
Redondo-Cerezo
Eduardo Redondo-Cerezo, Endoscopy Unit, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Virgen de Las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain.
Antonio Damián
AD
Sánchez-Capilla
Eduardo Redondo-Cerezo, Endoscopy Unit, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Virgen de Las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain.
Paloma
P
De La Torre-Rubio
Eduardo Redondo-Cerezo, Endoscopy Unit, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Virgen de Las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain.
Javier
J
De Teresa
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D053705:Capsule Endoscopes; D053704:Capsule Endoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D059015:Wireless Technology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000639:trends
Colon capsule endoscopy; Esophageal capsule endoscopy; Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding; Small bowel tumors; Wireless capsule endoscopy