Capsule endoscopy or pillcam is a procedure designed to help the doctor see what is happening in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It is the least invasive and most direct way to see the small intestine which is otherwise unreachable via endoscopy. The MacMurray Centre does the most capsule endoscopy in New Zealand and are the leaders in this field.
A capsule endoscopy involves swallowing a small capsule (the size of a large vitamin tablet) with a tiny video camera inside. The capsule moves painlessly through your digestive tract by the body’s own natural peristalsis, whilst taking pictures of your intestine. The images are transmitted to a sensor belt, which is worn around your waist and attached to a data recorder. The data recorder will save all the images. After about 12 hours the data recorder and sensor belt will be taken off for processing. You will eventually pass the capsule in a bowel motion.