Critical Reviews™ in Biomedical Engineering

ISSN for PRINT: 0278-940X

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2006, Volume34

Issue 2

87 pages

Issue price - $266.00

A. Arshak
Physics Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

K. Arshak
Electronic & Computer Engineering Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

D. Morris
Physics Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

E. Jafer
Electronic & Computer Engineering Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

O. Korostynska
Electronic & Computer Engineering Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

G. M. Lyons
Biomedical Electronics Laboratory, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

D. Waldron
Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, Ireland

Present methods for investigation of the GI tract are invasive, distressing for the patient, and give a low diagnostic yield. Wireless, radio telemetry capsules, capable of monitoring physiological changes or visualizing the GI tract are noninvasive and could realize a faster time to diagnoses along with improved treatment of both organic diseases and functional disorders. Consequently, the patient's quality of life would improve. In this paper, early radiotelemetry capsules and the motivating factors for their development are discussed. Following this, prototype and commercially available digestible microsystems making use of microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems are presented. It is shown that these capsules have the potential to combine the functions of their predecessors and furthermore can be used for visualizing the gastrointestinal tract. These systems have the potential to improve diagnostic yield and, in the future, treatment of disease using these capsules should become a reality.

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