Key points from article :
Colon capsule endoscopy is an example of “sci-fi” medicine increasingly deployed to improve care.
“Minute cameras pass through body, take two pictures per second, checking for signs of cancer and conditions like Crohn’s disease,” - Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England.
NHS England’s trial of the capsules, 2cm long, to send 31,000 women in London a home kit to test for signs of cervical cancer.
Involves patient visiting a nurse who fits a belt and receiver around waist.
Photographs of the bowel are sent wirelessly from the capsule to a cancer specialist.
Patients excrete the capsule when they go to the toilet.
Test is already being used across Scotland.
Most patients do not experience risks or complications with the ScotCap Test.
“The future of healthcare should be closer to home, and indeed that is the vision of the NHS Long Term Plan," - Andrew Goddard, president of the RCP.
University College London Hospitals NHS trust is already using the capsules to detect bowel cancer.
