Device Companies Developing New Endoscopy Technology

Siemens Healthcare is working with Olympus Medical Systems Corporation to develop a capsule-sized endoscope system that doctors can control remotely.

The technology in development would enable physicians to examine a patient’s stomach by steering a magnetically guided endoscope the size of a pill through the gastrointestinal tract. Upon swallowing the pill, the patient would lie down in a “magnetic guidance system,” according to a news release from Olympus Medical. The doctor would then use a joystick (think Pac-man or any other early 1980s video game) to navigate the capsule horizontally and vertically to areas of interest in the patient’s abdomen, where it would relay high-resolution images to a display in the examination room.

Capsule-sized endoscope systems currently exist, but move through the gastrointestinal tract by way of successive contractions. Such movement makes it difficult to guide the capsule to a specific location, resulting in exams that are limited to certain areas of the gastrointestinal tract, such as the small intestine. Capsules designed for use in the small intestine generally cannot be used for a thorough examination of the large intestine, according to Olympus Medical.

The capsule endoscope being developed by Olympus Medical and Siemens Healthcare would not have such limitations. Measuring 31 millimeters in length and 11 millimeters in diameter, the capsule will be equipped with cameras at both ends to allow doctors optimal viewing when navigating the body’s gastrointestinal highway.

To help enable navigation and provide a field of vision for the tiny device, the patient’s stomach must be filled with water. The patient also must be positioned within the “guidance magnet,” so his or her stomach (with the capsule endoscope inside) is in the center of the system, Olympus Medical officials said.

“Our aim is to create endoscopes that minimize the stress on patients and are user-friendly for physicians,” said Haruhito Morishima, Olympus Medical president and CEO. “Capsule endoscopes have excellent potential from these perspectives. We see this project with Siemens as the realization of one of our visions for the future of capsule endoscopes.”

Siemens Healthcare CEO Herrmann Requardt predicted that his company’s collaboration with Olympus would “usher in a new era of endoscopy.”

“We believe that the magnetically guided capsule endoscope will enable quick examinations that are comfortable for the patient,” he said in a news release. “This system will be an excellent addition to current methods in endoscopy.”