New Capsule Imaging Offers Better Esophageal Cancer Screening

Massachusetts researchers have developed a capsule imaging technology with better screening for esophageal cancer than what traditional endoscopy offers. Their pill-size device could also prove useful for imaging other conditions of the esophagus.

Doctors might soon be able to utilize the new technology to check for Barrett's esophagus, according to Medical News Today. The imaging system was developed by scientists at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. A capsule around the size of a multivitamin houses it.

In patients with Barrett's esophagus, the tissue lining of the esophagus gets replaced with tissue much like that in the lining of the intestine via a process known as intestinal metaplasia, the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse says. Some patients with the condition develop an uncommon but life-threatening type of esophageal cancer.

The National Cancer Institute estimated that in 2012, more than 17,000 Americans would receive a diagnosis of cancer of the esophagus. The agency predicted that more than 15,000 individuals would die of it in the same year.

While doctors associate no particular symptoms with Barrett's esophagus, they frequently discover it in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). According to the Mayo Clinic, GERD is a chronic digestive disease that develops when stomach acid backwashes into the esophagus, causing irritation of the lining. Sometimes the irritation develops from a reflux of bile.

With the Massachusetts procedure, patients swallow a capsule housing optical frequency domain imaging technology. The laser tip gives off a beam of light against the esophageal lining, and sensors record the reflection. When the capsule travels to the opening of the stomach, the physician can pull it back by a tether.

The new technology has advantages over standard endoscopy. Patients don't require sedation for the procedure. When the researchers used the imaging on 13 subjects, they were able to see the whole esophagus in less than a minute and to complete the procedure in approximately six minutes. This contrasts with an average stay of around 90 minutes in an endoscopy unit. In addition, the images retrieved were much more detailed than those available with standard endoscopy.

For more than 20 years, I have suffered from GERD. The condition waxes and wanes, necessitating periodic dietary changes and substitution of prescription medications for over-the-counter drugs. I have had to undergo traditional endoscopy every two to three years as monitoring.

Because of other concerns about my health, doctors have always scheduled the test as a hospital outpatient procedure rather than a visit to a free-standing endoscopy center. I've never gone home earlier than three hours after arrival. I've been extremely uncomfortable and nauseated after several endoscopies.

As a patient with Crohn's disease, I underwent an intestinal capsule imaging somewhat similar to the Massachusetts technology. I would certainly welcome the new capsule imaging as a better way to screen for esophageal cancer.

Vonda J. Sines has published thousands of print and online health and medical articles. She specializes in diseases and other conditions that affect the quality of life.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/capsule-imaging-offers-better-esophageal-cancer-screening-161000780.html

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