Swallowable capsule technology: current perspectives and future directions

We would like to thank Drs Sanchez-Yague and Nguyen-Tang for their comments on our article describing swallowable capsule technology and the recent advances in this area [1]. In their letter, capsule image acquisition and processing is highlighted as an important topic with many exciting developments. We agree that this is an important area and that there is much ongoing research and development activity. The authors give specifications on the different capsule endoscopes that are available. This includes the different variants of the PillCam product from Given Imaging, and the EndoCapsule, MiRo, and OMOM, each of which has its own advantageous features. Developments in advanced endoscopic imaging are also mentioned. In recent times, there have been a number of useful review articles on capsule endoscopes [2] [3] [4] [5]. However, due to the rapidity of new developments, an updated review dedicated to capsule endoscopes would be interesting.

In our article, we wanted to take the opportunity to discuss capsule developments that might not be as widely known as imaging technology. We focused on technologies that we feel are of importance and that have not yet been fully embraced by capsule developers. These technologies, which include drug delivery, chemical sensing, controlled motion, and battery-less power, have the potential to be incorporated in capsule endoscopes to result in an overall more accurate and useful device. For instance, capsule endoscopes with drug delivery could have improved therapeutic capabilities, and capsule endoscopes combined with an appropriate chemical sensor could potentially lead to improved diagnosis.

We hope that our highlighting of capsule developments other than those associated with image acquisition and processing will further encourage different disciplines to collaborate in this area. Through this merging of disciplines, we believe that capsules with both therapeutic and improved diagnostic capabilities will be achievable.

Competing interests: None

References

• 1 Twomey K, Marchesi J M. Swallowable capsule technology: current perspectives and future directions.  Endoscopy. 2009;  41 357-362
• 2 Sachdev M S, Ismail M K. Capsule endoscopy: a review.  South Med J. 2008;  101 407-414
• 3 Mazzarolo S, Brady P. Small bowel capsule endoscopy: a review.  South Med J. 2007;  100 274-280
• 4 Moglia A, Menciassi A, Schurr M O. et al . Wireless capsule endoscopy: from diagnostic devices to multipurpose robotic systems.  Biomed Microdevices. 2007;  9 235-243
• 5 Delvaux M, Gay G. Capsule endoscopy in 2005: facts and perspectives.  Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2006;  20 23-39