‘Pillbot’ Could Explore Inner Human Body

‘Pillbot’ Could Explore Inner Human Body

A new, small robotic camera designed to be swallowed for use in medical examinations was recently demonstrated at a conference in Canada. The device called PillBot can be guided through a body remotely, meaning electronically from outside. Its creators hope the device will replace traditional endoscopies. An endoscopy is when a camera attached to a wire is directed down the throat and into a sleeping patient's stomach.

The company Endiatx based in Hayward, California, developed the device. The research hospital, Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, is a partner in the project.

The PillBot is designed to be the first motorized endoscopic camera. Here is how developers say it works: A patient does not eat for one day, then swallows the PillBot with lots of water. The PillBot acts like a small submarine controlled by a wireless¹ remote control. When the exam is complete, the body will expel the PillBot in the same way it expels other solid waste.

Dr. Vivek Kumbhari is co-founder of the company. He is professor of medicine and chairman of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. It is the latest step toward his larger goal of making complex medicine more accessible.

If endoscopies can be moved from a hospital setting to a patient's home, he said, "then I think we have achieved that goal." Use of the device would require fewer medical workers and no anesthesia, he said. The device provides "a safer, more comfortable approach," he added.

Kumbhari also said the technology is more efficient and permits people to get treatment earlier in the progress of a disease.

Alex Luebke is the co-founder of Endiatx. He said the PillBot can help people in rural areas where medical centers and treatment are lacking.

"Especially in developing countries, there is no access" to complex medical care, he said. "So being able to have the technology, gather all that information and provide you the solution, even in remote areas - that's the way to do it."

The micro-robotic pill is undergoing testing. It could come before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for consideration in the coming months. If approved, the PillBot could be available by 2026.

Kumbhari hopes the technology can be expanded to the bowels³, vascular⁴ system, heart, liver, brain and other parts of the body.

Words in This Story

accessible — adj. able to be reached or approached

achieve — v. to get or reach by working hard

anesthesia — n. loss of feeling in a person's body or part of the body through the use of drugs

comfortable — n. not causing any physically⁵ unpleasant feelings

approach — n. to begin to deal with or think about

bowel² — n. the long tube in the body that helps digest food and carries solid waste out of the body

vascular — n. of or relating to the veins⁶, arteries⁷, etc., that carry fluids through the body

1 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

2 bowel   

n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处

参考例句：

• Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
• Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？

3 bowels   

n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处

参考例句：

• Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vascular   

adj.血管的，脉管的

参考例句：

• The mechanism of this anomalous vascular response is unknown.此种不规则的血管反应的机制尚不清楚。
• The vascular changes interfere with diffusion of nutrients from plasma into adjacent perivascular tissue and cells.这些血管变化干扰了营养物质从血浆中向血管周围邻接的组织和细胞扩散。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》