Capsule Endoscopy
Capsule endoscopy is a procedure that uses a tiny wireless camera to take pictures of your digestive tract. A capsule endoscopy camera sits inside a vitamin-size capsule you swallow. As the capsule travels through your digestive tract, the camera takes thousands of pictures that are transmitted to a recorder you wear on a belt around your waist.
Capsule Endoscopy helps doctors see inside your small intestine — an area that isn’t easily reached with more-traditional endoscopy procedures.
Your doctor might recommend a capsule endoscopy procedure to:
- Find the cause of gastrointestinal bleeding
- Diagnose inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease
- Diagnose cancer
- Diagnose celiac disease
- Screen for polyps
- Do follow-up testing after X-rays or other imaging tests. If results of an imaging test are unclear or inconclusive, your doctor might recommend a capsule endoscopy to get more information.