Pill photographs your insides

A capsule, with the ability to “swim” through the body, could provide clinicians with unprecedented control when photographing the inside of the human body.

The capsule, developed by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is designed to be swallowed like a pill and equipped with a camera.

Once inside the patient’s digestive track, a doctor can “steer” the capsule through the body using an MRI machine, and photograph specific areas of interest.

The photos are able to be viewed wirelessly, whereby images are delivered in “real-time”.

“Our goal is to develop this capsule and allow clinicians to make a diagnosis during a single procedure with little discomfort or risk to the patient,” researcher at the Department of Radiology at BWH, Noby Hata, says.

“Ideally in the future we would be able to utilise this technology, deliver drugs or other treatments, such as laser surgery, directly to tumours or injuries within the digestive track,” he adds.

The prototype has reportedly been successfully tested in a tank of water, with the next step to trial the capsule in the human body.