Pop this pill, and eight hours later, doctors can examine a high-resolution video of your intestines for tumors and other problems, thanks to a new spinning pill camera that captures images in 360 degrees. Developed by the Japanese RF System Lab, the Sayaka endoscope capsule entered the U.S. market in 2008.
An endoscope is a flexible camera that travels into the body’s cavities to directly investigate the digestive tract, colon or throat. Most of today’s endoscopes capture the image using a traditional approach where each part of the camera captures a different section of the image. These tools are long, flexible cords about 9 mm wide, about the width of a human fingernail. Because the cord is so wide patients must be sedated during the scan.
The new endoscope capsule transfers the captured images wirelessly to an external receiver worn by the patient using one of appropriate frequency bands. The collected images are then transferred to a computer for diagnosis, review and display. A transmitted radio-frequency signal can be used to accurately estimate the location of the capsule and to track it in real time inside the body and gastrointestinal tract.
Common reasons for doing using and endoscopic capsule include unexplained bleeding, unexplained iron deficiency, unexplained abdominal pain, search for polyps, ulcers and tumors of small intestine and inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease.
According to Eric Seibel, a University of Washington research associate professor of mechanical engineering, this could be the foundation for the future of endoscopy.
This particular endoscope consists of just a single optical fiber for illumination and six fibers for collecting light, all encased in a pill. Seibel acted as the human volunteer in the first test of the UW device. He reports that it felt like swallowing a regular pill, and the tether, which is 1.4 mm wide, and that it did not bother him.
Once swallowed, an electric current flowing through the UW endoscope causes the fiber to bounce back and forth so that its lone electronic eye sees the whole scene, one pixel at a time. At the same time the fiber spins and its tip projects red, green and blue laser light. The image processing then combines all this information to create a two-dimensional color picture.
In the tested model the fiber was found to swing 5000 times/sec, creating 15 color pictures/sec. The resolution was better than 100 microns, or more than 500 lines/in. Although conventional endoscopes produce images at higher resolution, the tethered-capsule endoscope is designed specifically for low-cost screening. Using the scanning device is cheap because it’s so small and doesn’t require anesthesia and sedation, which increase the cost of the traditional procedure.
Creating the perfect lens for an endoscope, such as the ‘pill camera’, requires technology that UKA offers to their customers. Our complete in-house development team is here to ensure that from concept to conclusion, your specific design is exactly as expected.
Current attempts in the area of wireless endoscopy capsule are also seeking to include additional sensing mechanisms, localization, and motion control enabling new applications, e.g. drug delivery. Wireless energy transmission is also investigated for wireless capsule systems to provide a continuous energy source.
Universe Kogaku designs and manufactures optical lenses for endoscopic pill cameras, security, high tech and electronic applications. We stock 1000’s of standard lens assemblies and can custom design a solution for scanners, CCTV, CCD/CMOS, medical imaging, surveillance systems, machine vision and night vision systems.