Now THAT'S entertainment!

8/9/2001

While the medical, political, and religious communities debate the value and virtue of embryonic stem cell research, another marvel in medicine has emerged almost unnoticed: It's a tiny camera-in-a-capsule that lets doctors see inside the small intestine.

The camera pill, if you will, is boldly taking doctors where they have never been before.

Government has given the wireless technology its approval. A tiny camera takes pictures, which are then transmitted to a receiver on a waistband that a patient wears. The images are downloaded into a computer where doctors can get a better view of what's happening inside the intestines, certainly giving new meaning to the term “reality TV.”

The video camera seems to be a preferred option to the more unpleasant procedures that involve fitting tubes down a patient's throat. Endoscopes can't get through all the twists and turns in the small intestine.

The nice thing about the video camera is that no invasive procedure is necessary to remove it. The tiny disposable camera merely ... well ... passes on.

Is this a great country or what?