“The Camera in a Pill” Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a noninvasive procedure in which a small capsule containing a video camera, light, transmitter, and batteries is swallowed and passed through the GI tract while video recording the mucosa of the small bowel. These images are transmitted by a radiofrequency signal to a data recorder attached to the patient’s waist. After approximately eight hours the capsule is excreted and the recorded data is downloaded to a computer where, with the use of software, it can be viewed, edited and reported. Wireless capsule endoscopy is intended for patients with small bowel disease who have obscure bleeding, in addition to GI symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea, and whose diagnosis remains unknown following standard radiology and endoscopy.
