New capsule can diagnose gastrointestinal disorders By Judy Siegel JERUSALEM (August 29, 2000) - Clinical trials of a locally-invented capsule that enables a painless diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders will begin in a few weeks, Yokne'am-based Given Imaging Ltd. announced yesterday. Touted as possibly the most important development in the field of endoscopy of all time, the capsule produces lifelike color videos as it passes through the small intestine. The capsule, which was theoretically foreseen in the 1966 science-fiction movie, Fantastic Journey (in which a miniaturized Raquel Welch and friends sail a boat through a human body), contains a miniature video camera, flashing light, battery, and computer chip. The 2.5-cm,-long opaque-yellow and transparent capsule is propelled through the 3.5- to 4.5-meter small intestine by the natural contraction of peristalsis. The patient undergoes his normal daily business, and the capsule comes out with one's stool. A wireless recorder worn on a belt around the waist receives signals transmitted by the capsule through an array of sensors placed on the patient's body. After the pill-shaped device comes out, the patient returns it to the doctor for data processing, and producing a short video clip of the small intestine. This enables gastroenterologists to find sources of unexplained bleeding, growths, signs of irritable bowel and other conditions that can be treated conventionally. The disposable capsule will cost about $300 apiece, saving the health system money, as less accurate and painful endoscopies are much more expensive. The patented technology was invented by Gadi Iddan, a missile- development scientist at Rafael, the Arms Development Authority. Given Imaging, privately owned by Discount Investments and El-Rom, has received the green light for clinical trials after holding discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration. The trials are to be held in New York, London, and Israel, the company said. Company vice president Pablo Halpern said if the trials go according to plan, the swallowable capsule could be available in the US and Western Europe during the first quarter of next year. Although the capsule is not expected to replace endoscopy or colonoscopy because these can be used for invasive treatment (taking biopsies, pinching off pre-cancerous polyps) as well as diagnostics, company officials said it would eventually comprise an important chunk of the multi-billion-dollar Western market for gastroenterological technologies. Halpern said his company has a five-year plan for diagnoses involving only the small intestine, but it may license the technology to others who want to use it for producing video images of the cancer-prone large intestine (colon), the gynecological tract in women, and perhaps even the cardiovascular system. The tool will be tested initially on a total of 20 patients at Royal London Hospital by Prof. Paul Swain, Dr. Blair Lewis of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and Prof. Eitan Scapa of Assaf Harofeh Hospital in Tzrifin. "This is possibly the most important development in the field of endoscopy of all time," Swain said in a press release.