Capsule small bowel video endoscopy is a procedure that uses a tiny wireless camera to take pictures of the digestive tract. A capsule endoscopy camera sits inside a vitamin-sized capsule once swallowed. As the capsule travels through the digestive tract, the camera takes thousands of pictures transmitted to a recorder worn on a belt around the waist.
This procedure helps physicians see inside the small intestine; an area not easily reached through more traditional endoscopy procedures that involve passing a long, flexible tube equipped with a video camera down the throat or rectum.