Pill-sized cameras that help doctors diagnose intestinal problems risk running out of battery power before they have passed through the gut. But now Motorola (WO 02/36007) has an answer.
Like others in the field, Motorola has made a tiny camera and transmitter capsule, which the patient swallows. The difference is a filter on the camera lens that only lets the camera see light wavelengths emitted by a fluorescent dye. The patient drinks the dye combined with an antibody that seeks out a suspected disease spot. Drinking water then flushes out all the dye, except where the antibody anchors it to…
