Patients suffering from chronic heartburn and other GI illnesses can now swallow a camera pill (PillCam ESO) that will take pictures of their esophagus to check for such diseases as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), erosive esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus (a pre-cancerous condition) without the use of a traditional endoscopy. After taking the PillCam ESO with a glass of water, the pill glides down the esophageal tract taking about 2,600 color digital pictures (14 pictures a second).
Clinical studies show that the accuracy of PillCam ESO is comparable to traditional endoscopy. The difference between an endoscopy and a PillCam procedure is as follows:
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- An endoscopy requires a day off work, no driving for 24 hours, a long tube going down one’s throat and hours of heavy sedation
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- A PillCam ESO requires two hours of fasting, a pill with a video camera on each end, a glass of water, five minutes of wearing a recorder to gather the photos, and then 15 minutes of waiting while the gastroenterologist completes his/her readings. The patient may return to all daily activities immediately after the 20-minute procedure.
An estimated 61 million Americans suffer from heartburn at least once a month. Approximately 19 million Americans suffer from GERD (chronic heartburn). While millions of GERD sufferers undergo traditional upper endoscopies every year, most GERD sufferers do not monitor their condition despite the fact that up to 15 percent of them could have Barrett’s esophagus, a condition that increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer. Instead of undergoing an endoscopy, many GERD suffers instead rely on antacids to mask their symptoms.
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