Endoscopy may be replaced by swallowing a capsule

A TEAM of researchers in Cork is developing a new swallowable capsule which could signal the end of painful, invasive procedures to detect gastrointestinal disease, writes Michelle McDonagh

The most common method of diagnosing disease such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and cancer of the stomach and bowel is an endoscopy or colonoscopy which can be unpleasant for patients.

However, researchers at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork are working on a revolutionary project involving the development of a swallowable capsule which will provide more detailed information than current diagnostic methods as well as avoiding the pain and delay associated with such methods.

Principal investigator on the project, Dr Karen Twomey, explained that the information from the patient's digestive tract would be transmitted from a sensor in the capsule through a wireless unit worn by the patient directly to their GP's computer.

The capsule - which is slightly larger than a standard headache pill and powered by a tiny battery - detects information on the gut environment as it passes through the intestine tract, which is periodically transmitted to the office of the patient's GP for analysis and diagnosis.

The three-year project, which is funded by Enterprise Ireland, is due to finish this month, but the team has recently got additional funding to cover pre-clinical trials for a further year.

Dr Twomey pointed out that there were already a number of swallowable capsules on the market, including one with a camera attached that provided images of the gut wall and another with PH sensors.

"It can be difficult to identify specific diseases with the existing capsules on the market and there is a risk of misdiagnosis. Our capsule provides very specific information on the gut fluid which can be linked directly to a particular disease and the chance of misdiagnosis is very small," she said.

The major advantage of the easy-to-swallow capsule for the patient, according to Dr Twomey, is that it is painless, particularly when compared with existing diagnostic methods and the results are instant.

She said the preclinical trials would be followed by clinical trials and would then have to go through the lengthy FDA approval process, so it would be at least four years before the capsule was available on the market. However, the research institute is currently working on finding a company that may be interested in bringing it to market.