Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the NHS.
The imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours.
Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks at home.
Traditional endoscopies mean patients need to attend hospital and have a tube inserted whereas the new technology means that people can go about their normal day.
An initial group of 11,000 NHS patients in England will receive the capsule cameras in more than 40 parts of the country.
The NHS has prioritised cancer care during the coronavirus pandemic and the latest figures show that hospitals carried out more than two cancer treatments for every patient they treated for COVID-19.
In December alone, more than 25,000 patients were treated for cancer and more than 200,000 people came forward for checks – 13,000 more than the same month the previous year.
NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens said:
“As we come out of ‘peak COVID’ and the disruption of the pandemic, the NHS is now pushing ahead with genuine innovation to expand services for many other conditions. That’s why we’re now trialing these ingenious capsule cameras to allow more people to undergo cancer investigations quickly and safely. What sounds like sci-fi is now becoming a reality, and as these minute cameras pass through your body, they take two pictures per second checking for signs of cancer and other conditions like Crohn’s disease.”
