Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Strasbourg University developed a method for imaging and characterizing the esophageal wall using a tethered capsule, according to Medical Physics Web.
Here are four insights:
1. This method may be especially helpful for diagnosing upper gastrointestinal tract diseases such as Barrett's esophagus, in which esophageal tissues change to resemble those that line the intestine.
2. Harvard Medical School's Guillermo Tearney, MD, and colleagues developed an optical coherence tomography capsule for imaging the esophagus. As the capsule is swallowed, or retracted by its tether, it creates 360-degree cross-sections up and down the esophagus. From the data generated, it is possible to distinguish between regular and abnormal tissues.
3. The capsule is 11 x 24.5 mm in size and can be easily swallowed, making it a much simpler and more comfortable procedure for the patient compared to endoscopy.
4. Dr. Tearney and colleagues are now moving to further develop their screening technology with an eye to decreasing processing times and conducting comparisons between their algorithm's output and histopathology as the gold standard. The researchers are also investigating whether this technique could be used for the diagnosis of other gastrointestinal tract cancers and conditions such as allergic esophagitis and celiac disease.