Capsule endoscopy capabilities
Capsule endoscopy, in essence, is the very cherished magic pill that can do almost everything, not only in the treatment, but in the diagnosis of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. What is capsule endoscopy? Endoscopy is a study of internal organs by immersing a special device there, equipped with a cold light source and a video camera, from which the image is fed to the monitor.
Capsule endoscopy is a new, extended version of endoscopy used in gastroenterology. Unlike fibrogastroduodenoscopy, popularly known as "intestinal swallowing", or sigmoidoscopy, this method does not cause absolutely any unpleasant sensations in the patient. In addition, it allows you to explore not individual areas of the mucous membrane, but the entire mucous membrane throughout the entire digestive tract.
The essence of capsule endoscopy is that the patient is allowed to swallow a capsule, which is a portable endoscope - the same video camera, light source, but also a battery, as well as a transmitter that allows wireless transmission of images through body tissues. A recording device is attached to the patient's belt, taking readings from the sensor in real time. The capsule is disposable, in the gastrointestinal tract it moves in a natural way, with the help of peristalsis - just like a food lump.
The image of the mucosa obtained by the method of capsule endoscopy is of very high quality. It can be sorted, tracked not even by the minute, but by the second, and increased several times. For the patient, capsule endoscopy does not present any inconvenience, during the entire 12-hour study (this is usually how much a capsule needs to go through the entire digestive tract from the moment of swallowing to exit), he can go about his daily activities.
There are many advantages to capsule endoscopy. Due to the high resolution of the images, this is the most informative method for diagnosing diseases of the mucous membrane of the entire gastrointestinal tract and the most reliable method for examining the small intestine, the mucosa of which cannot be seen using conventional endoscopy. Capsule endoscopy makes it possible to diagnose diseases at an early stage, since even the slightest changes in the mucous membrane do not go unnoticed. At the same time, the technique is absolutely safe, and is contraindicated only for young children, pregnant women - due to the novelty of the method and the lack of research on these groups of patients, as well as those patients who have mechanical obstacles to the capsule advance (strictures, tumors, intestinal obstruction).
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