Joseph Bisignano is a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) with over 10 years of experience. At Alicam, Joseph Bisignano, DVM, reads and reviews capsule endoscopy.
Capsule endoscopy is a medical practice that involves looking into an animal’s gastrointestinal tract, particularly the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. The doctor induces the animal to swallow a small capsule that has a camera embedded in it.
The camera attached to the capsule takes pictures as it moves through the digestive tract. These pictures are sent outside the animal’s body for the veterinary doctor to observe.
Veterinary doctors are increasingly adopting capsule endoscopy because it does not require an anesthetic. In conventional endoscopic procedures, a flexible tube with a camera is inserted into the animal’s digestive tract for examination and biopsy. However, the capsule endoscopy process only requires swallowing a pill. This type of examination has very particular uses and indications. There is no way to obtain biopsies with capsule endoscopy. If your animal has GI symptoms, you and your veterinarian can choose which method of examination might be most appropriate for the patient.
