Prototype magnetically manoeuvring wireless capsule endoscope

Capsule endoscopy is a procedure that uses a tiny wireless camera to take pictures of the digestive tract. It helps practitioners see inside the small intestine—an area that isn't easily reached with a traditional endoscopy which involves passing a tube through an opening such as your mouth.

The camera sits inside a vitamin pill-sized capsule that is swallowed by the patient. As the capsule travels through the digestive tract, the camera takes thousands of pictures that are transmitted to a recorder worn by the patient. Capsule endoscopy is most commonly used to locate the source of unexplained bleeding from the gut. The main drawback is lack of control of movement; the devices are propelled naturally by peristalsis (the muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract) and gravity.

Gastroenterologist Professor C. Paul Swain, who co-developed and swallowed the first capsule endoscope (2022-1366), subsequently led research to create magnetic capsules that could be externally manipulated by a handheld magnet, enabling practitioners to pause, turn and direct the devices where necessary for closer inspection.

This prototype was one of a batch of six tested in anaesthetised pigs at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Pre-dating the first human study, they are perhaps the earliest surviving examples of such devices, which could one day make wireless delivery of targeted drug therapies and robotic biopsy a reality.

Capsule endoscopy is a procedure that uses a tiny wireless camera to take pictures of the digestive tract. It helps practitioners see inside the small intestine—an area that isn't easily reached with a traditional endoscopy which involves passing a tube through an opening such as your mouth.

The camera sits inside a vitamin pill-sized capsule that is swallowed by the patient. As the capsule travels through the digestive tract, the camera takes thousands of pictures that are transmitted to a recorder worn by the patient. Capsule endoscopy is most commonly used to locate the source of unexplained bleeding from the gut. The main drawback is lack of control of movement; the devices are propelled naturally by peristalsis (the muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract) and gravity.

Gastroenterologist Professor C. Paul Swain, who co-developed and swallowed the first capsule endoscope (2022-1366), subsequently led research to create magnetic capsules that could be externally manipulated by a handheld magnet, enabling practitioners to pause, turn and direct the devices where necessary for closer inspection.

This prototype was one of a batch of six tested in anaesthetised pigs at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Pre-dating the first human study, they are perhaps the earliest surviving examples of such devices, which could one day make wireless delivery of targeted drug therapies and robotic biopsy a reality.