That’s right, I swallowed a camera Monday morning.
The size of a large multi-vitamin pill, the camera traveled eight hours to regions of my gastrointestinal tract not reachable by the routine endoscopy and colonoscopy (e/c) procedures I underwent months ago.
As my doctor explained, those procedures only explored the outer portions of their respective entry points into the convoluted world of my intestines. The pill-camera, on the other hand, would navigate its way down, up and around the full 25-30 feet of intestines. In my case it was searching for any signs I was dripping blood anywhere, which might explain why I am slightly anemic despite eating a healthy diet and have not shown any blood during my e/c exams.
Developed in Israel, the PillCam is another example of Israeli technology making our world easier and safer. Think Waze. Exploding beepers and walkie-talkies. USB flash drives. Drip irrigation systems. Iron Dome missile defense system, to cite just a small sample of Israeli know-how used in peacetime and war.
For eight hours PillCam bobbed and weaved, tumbling along taking pictures at the rate of two to six frames per second inside my body, causing no discomfort (for revelations, if any, I’ll have to await the doctor doing what Warner Wolf used to say during his sportscasts, “Let’s go to the videotape,” probably by week’s end).
The PillCam SB 3 capsule is about the size of a Costco brand adult daily multi-vitamin pill. It’s smooth on the outside with a clear dome on one end encasing a light and camera that wirelessly sent pictures to a recorder I wore on a sling next to my right hip (https://www.medtronic.com/en-us/healthcare-professionals/products/digestive-gastrointestinal/capsule-endoscopy/endoscopy-systems/pillcam-sb-3-capsule-endoscopy-system.html).
Twenty-four hours prior to swallowing the PillCam at 8:30 am I was allowed no solid food (a perfect tune-up for Yom Kippur). The only other prep was drinking a 10 oz. bottle of magnesium citrate at 6 pm Sunday. Yes, the expected flushing of the system transpired, but not as intensely as for a colonoscopy.
A light meal—two poached eggs and a toasted English muffin—broke my fast at 12:30 pm Tuesday. I was back to eating a regular diet by evening. Good thing, as I had lost about five pounds in the process.
By the way, for those interested, the PillCam self-disposes like everything else one ingests.
