PillCam Finally Gets FDA Approval

It has been almost a decade since Given Imaging first unveiled its idea of a miniscule snapshooter but finally it has received approval from the FDA for use in the U.S.

Given Imaging understood that for a lot of people procedures like colonoscopies can be a very unpleasant experience. So it developed the PillCam Colon, a tiny camera in the form of a pill that the patient swallows. It can take a series of high-speed photos on its eight-hour journey through the digestive system and instead of having to wait for the pill to be ‘evacuated’, photos are transmitted directly to a device that the patient wears on their belt.

Swallowing PillCam

Currently PillCam is available to people in 80 countries and now that the FDA has granted approval in the U.S, a possible 750,000 more people could benefit from this treatment.

PillCam in the colon

The only downside to this little device is that the image quality is not as good as other standard techniques but for patients who have sedation risks or are at risk of bleeding, this move from the FDA will certainly be welcome.