The future of capsule endoscopy. Keio J Med. 2013;62:41-46. [PMID: 23708295 DOI: 10.2302/kjm.2012-0011-re]

The Detective Value of Magnetically Controlled Robotic Capsule Endoscopy in Patients With Suspected Small Intestinal Disease

Objective: To explore the detective value of magnetically controlled robotic capsule endoscopy (MCRCE) in patients with suspected small intestinal disease.

Patients and Methods: In total, 1,802 patients with suspected small intestinal disease and negative gastroenteroscopy from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital were examined with MCRCE, and the data were collected for further analysis.

Results: Among the 1,802 patients who were examined with MCRCE, 974 were diagnosed with small intestinal disease, reaching a positive detection rate of 54.1%. The five most common conditions that were detected include non-specific enteritis in 722 cases (40.1%), small intestinal ulcers in 87 cases (4.8%), abnormal small bowel evacuation in 45 cases (2.5%), small intestinal bleeding in 33 cases (1.8%), and small intestinal yellow spots in 31 cases (1.7%). The running time of the capsules in the small intestine ranged from 85–437 min, with an average of 210.24 ± 89.08 min. No complications, such as intestinal obstruction or capsule retention, were observed in all patients.

Conclusion: MCRCE is a safe and non-invasive endoscopic examination with a highly accurate detection rate for small intestinal diseases.

Multiple intestinal stromal tumors in a young patient with acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Acute small intestinal bleeding in clinical diagnosis and treatment is not specific, and the diagnosis of small intestinal bleeding is still a major clinical challenge because of its high mobility, tortuosity, and difficulty in endoscopic examination.

CASE SUMMARY

This case is a young patient with multiple stromal tumors of the small intestine complicated with acute massive hemorrhage of the digestive tract. After correction of shock, abdominal computed tomography (CT) and emergency enteroscopy were performed, followed by multi-disciplinary team discussion to develop a reasonable and standardized treatment plan and subsequent therapy to save the patient¡¯s life and maximize the benefits of the patient.

CONCLUSION

Small intestinal stromal tumor has an insidious onset and lacks specific clinical manifestations. According to the characteristics of this disease, B-mode ultrasound, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, digital subtraction angiography, gastrointestinal endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, and other examinations should be used to make a preoperative diagnosis and conduct accurate clinical staging. Multidisciplinary discussion is helpful to develop standardized treatment options to improve the prognosis of patients.

Association between hypokalemia and small bowel capsule endoscopy completion rates in patients in South China: A prospective single-center study

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Approximately 20-30% of small bowel capsule endoscopies (SBCEs) do not reach the cecum at the completion of the examination. We aimed to determine whether hypokalemia influences the completion rate and small bowel transit time (SBTT) of SBCE.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From January to December 2017, 112 patients (18-75 years old) who underwent SBCE were assessed consecutively for enrolment in our study. On the day of the procedure, a blood test was performed prior to capsule ingestion. The completion rate, gastric transit time (GTT), SBTT, and diagnostic yield were recorded for each SBCE.

RESULTS

The SBCE completion rate was lower in the hypokalemia group than that in the normal potassium group (55.6% (15/27) vs. 76.5% (65/85), P = 0.036). The median GTT was 55.5 ± 47.1 min in the hypokalemia group and 46.7 ± 44.5 min in the normal potassium group (P > 0.05). The median SBTT was 412.8 ± 123.3 min in the hypokalemia group and 367.3 ± 172.5 min in the normal potassium group (P > 0.05). The diagnostic yields of the hypokalemia and normal potassium groups were 74.1% and 78.8%, respectively (P = 1.00).

CONCLUSION

Hypokalemia may decrease the SBCE completion rate. Physicians should consider the possibility of hypokalemia after bowel preparation because this condition is not rare. Potassium deficiencies should be rectified prior to performing SBCE procedures to increase the SBCE completion rate.

An Innovative Wireless Endoscopic Capsule With Spherical Shape

This paper aims to contribute to the advancement of the Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) field for ColoRectal Cancer (CRC) screening, by developing all electronic circuits to build an innovative wireless endoscopic capsule with a spherical shape, conceived to reduce the friction during its locomotion and thus improving patient's acceptability. The proposed capsule embeds an image sensor with optics and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), a control unit with a telemetry module, an actuation system, a battery with a smart recharging circuit able to recharge in 20 minutes, a smart power-on circuit and a localization module. Everything is devised to fit in a small spherical shape with a diameter of 26 mm and a weight of 12.70 g. The authors present a description of the sub-modules involved in the capsule development, together with the firmware and hardware integration. In order to reduce the bandwidth for matching the specifications of the target commercial telemetry, the firmware interfacing of a custom encoder was performed, which is able to compress the incoming images with a negligible loss of information and occupying a number of Look Up-Tables (LUTs) less than 1780. As a preliminary work, a versatile Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) based demo-board system has been developed in order to test and optimize the functionalities and the performance of the single sub-modules and wireless vision chain system. This work allows to demonstrate the feasibility of a complex biomedical system, with severe constraints by highlighting the necessity to enhance the frame rate in the future.

Capsule endoscopy: The road ahead

Since its introduction into clinical practice 15 years ago, capsule endoscopy (CE) has become the first-line investigation procedure in some small bowel pathologies, and more recently, dedicated esophageal and colon CE have expanded the fields of application to include the upper and lower gastrointestinal disorders. During this time, CE has become increasingly popular among gastroenterologists, with more than 2 million capsule examinations performed worldwide, and nearly 3000 PubMed-listed studies on its different aspects published. This huge interest in CE may be explained by its non-invasive nature, patient comfort, safety, and access to anatomical regions unattainable via conventional endoscopy. However, CE has several limitations which impede its wider clinical applications, including the lack of therapeutic capabilities, inability to obtain biopsies and control its locomotion. Several research groups are currently working to overcome these limitations, while novel devices able to control capsule movement, obtain high quality images, insufflate the gut lumen, perform chromoendoscopy, biopsy of suspect lesions, or even deliver targeted drugs directly to specific sites are under development. Overlooking current limitations, especially as some of them have already been successfully surmounted, and based on the tremendous progress in technology, it is expected that, by the end of next 15 years, CE able to perform both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures will remain the major form of digestive endoscopy. This review summarizes the literature that prognosticates about the future developments of CE.

Current status of capsule endoscopy through a whole digestive tract

More than a decade has passed since small-bowel capsule endoscopy (CE) was first reported. Small-bowel CE is a non-invasive tool that allows visualization of the entire small-intestinal mucosa and facilitates detection of small-intestinal abnormalities. Several studies have shown benefit of small-bowel CE for certain disorders. Because it is non-invasive, CE has been applied to other organs including the esophagus, stomach, and colon. The main indications for esophageal CE (ECE) are screening for gastroesophageal reflux disease/Barrett's esophagus, and esophageal varices. However, the clinical benefit of ECE is unconfirmed. Magnetically guided CE (MGCE) was developed to visualize the gastric mucosa. MGCE is a new concept with room for improvement of capsule navigation and the preparation protocol. Recently, two new small-bowel CE tools were released. First-generation colon CE (CCE-1) has moderate sensitivity and specificity compared with colonoscopy for colorectal neoplasia surveillance. To obtain higher accuracy, a second-generation CCE (CCE-2) was developed with a high sensitivity for detecting clinically relevant polypoid lesions. A possible application of CCE is for inflammatory bowel disease. In the near future, CE may include diagnostic and therapeutic functions such as magnifying endoscopy systems, targeted biopsy forceps, and drug delivery systems.

Emerging Issues and Future Developments in Capsule Endoscopy

Capsule endoscopy (CE) has transformed from a research venture into a widely used clinical tool and the primary means for diagnosing small bowel pathology. These orally administered capsules traverse passively through the gastrointestinal tract via peristalsis and are used in the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, and colon. The primary focus of CE research in recent years has been enabling active CE manipulation and extension of the technology to therapeutic functionality; thus, widening the scope of the procedure. This review outlines clinical standards of the technology as well as recent advances in CE research. Clinical capsule applications are discussed with respect to each portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Promising research efforts are presented with an emphasis on enabling active capsule locomotion. The presented studies suggest, in particular, that the most viable solution for active capsule manipulation is actuation of a capsule via exterior permanent magnet held by a robot. Developing capsule procedures adhering to current healthcare standards, such as enabling a tool channel or irrigation in a therapeutic device, is a vital phase in the adaptation of CE in the clinical setting.

Body position adjustment may facilitate capsule endoscopic real-time examination in patients with a large amount of food retention in the stomach

A patient with acute obscure gastrointestinal bleeding was found to have a large amount of food retention in the stomach after fasting for >12 hours. We tried to adjust the patient's body position to facilitate capsule endoscopic examination. The patient laid on the bed on his right side, which is the position required for a normal procedure, and then his hip was raised while his upper body was lowered gradually until the pylorus appeared at the center of the screen of the real-time monitor. It took 15 minutes of body position adjustment to make the pylorus appear at the center of the monitor and another 5 minutes for the capsule endoscope to enter the duodenum. The lesion was ultimately found at the terminal small intestine.