FDA Approves Pill-Sized Camera to be Used for Colonoscopies: UPDATE

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of a pill-sized camera among patients who need to undergo colonoscopies, according to Counsel Heal.

Colonoscopy is a mandatory procedure among patients who are having problems with their large intestines, specifically used for the rectum and colum. Previous procedures have raised concern among patients who claim that not only are they uncomfortable but are also very painful. As a result, the creation of the new device has provided them with the hope of receiving immediate and effective care.

This latest innovation, also known as PillCam Colon, is manufactured by Given Imaging. It works as an ingestible camera that makes it possible for doctors to look inside a patient's colon for polyps and possible sign of colon cancer. However, the device has only been approved for use among people who have trouble with colonoscopies. In 2001, Given Imaging created a similar device that was equally promising but the kinds of images it took were not as clear as the images collected from a colonoscopy.

"Given's management understands that the traditional colonoscopy is the gastroenterologist's breada and butter right now," said Debbie Wang, an analyst from Morning Star. "So they didn't want to do anything that would position this as a substitute." The device is estimated to cost somewhere over $60 million within North America alone by 2019. PillCam Colon costs approximately $500, a much cheaper amount compared to an estimated $4,000 for a colonoscopy.