SmartPill surveys the gastric landscape

In the near future, you may among the privileged to swallow a SmartPill pH.p Capsule and have it diagnose a host of gastric problems as it wends its way through your digestive tract. The pill, expected to be available later this year, can transmit gastric data to a wireless receiver, avoiding the need for gastric emptying Scintigraphy, a procedure that exposes the patient to radiation. While this and other smart pills may make us a little queasy, we still prefer them to the alternative, and we eagerly await SmartPill's planned improvements to the pH.p capsule, which the company says will make it a viable alternative to that other quaint tool used to check gastric problems: an endoscopy.

[Via Strange New Products]

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 13th 2006 4:16PM]

Seeking anyone who has knowledge of the clinical use of the Heidelberg pH capsule prior to May 1976. Personal experience, old journal ad or article..any assistance greatly appreciated.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 17th 2006 2:27PM]

That's great. I got poisoned once 10 years ago by eating something nasty, and I had to go through that.. it was awful. If only this device could have been invented back then :(

[ericlikesyou Posted Jan 17th 2006 2:32PM]

Except that the "pill" is more like an "oil filter" who could swallow that?

[davezatz Posted Jan 17th 2006 2:47PM]

Great way to reuse those Rio Carbon casings that were headed for the landfill.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 17th 2006 3:10PM]

Yeah, great, wait till they invent the smat supositorium!

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 17th 2006 3:27PM]

This is uncomfortable and humiliating. Now, if only they could put it in suppository form...

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 17th 2006 4:10PM]

This is the NEXT step in Gastro Tech! My father is a Gastroenterologist and has used the M2A (Mouth to Anus) pill since it was 1st avalible (he was one of the 1st testers) He said that this new pill will make it even easier to diagnos and even treat without sadition and a scope!

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 17th 2006 4:12PM]

I had to swallow a camera pill (which didn't find the problem) and ended up having to have an endoscopy anyway. I'd much rather take the pill, no matter how big it is. (assuming it works next time)

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 18th 2006 9:52AM]

Bravo! As somebody with a digestive disease, I can't wait until colonoscopies are hopefully replaced by pill camera endoscopy.

Believe me folks, as you get older theres a good chance you'll have to have one of these procedures as colon cancer is the third most prevalent cancer.

[johncommenter Posted Jan 18th 2006 10:24AM]

Oh for crissake. It's not a camera, and it's not new.

It's called a Heidelberg capsule (if it does pH). It dates from the mid-60's, of course this one has up-to-date telemetry electronics. The first radio pills went down around 1957.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 18th 2006 1:56PM]

Do you have to... retrieve it when you're... "done" with it?

-Jesse

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2006 5:50PM]

I guess my mom would love this, she hates the standard gastric method of detection. Well, well, science makes everything possible :)..