Episode Details

A new, small robotic camera designed to be swallowed for use in medical examinations was recently demonstrated at a conference in Canada. The device called PillBot can be guided through a body remotely, meaning electronically from outside. Its creators hope the device will replace traditional endoscopies. An endoscopy is when a camera attached to a wire is directed down the throat and into a sleeping patient’s stomach.

最近在加拿大的一次会议上展示了一种新型小型机器人相机，其设计可被吞咽以用于医学检查。 这种名为 PillBot 的设备可以通过身体远程引导，即从外部以电子方式引导。 它的创造者希望该设备能够取代传统的内窥镜。 内窥镜检查是将连接在电线上的摄像头引导到熟睡患者的喉咙并进入胃部。

The company Endiatx based in Hayward, California, developed the device. The research hospital, Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, is a partner in the project.

总部位于加利福尼亚州海沃德的 Endiatx 公司开发了该设备。 位于明尼苏达州罗彻斯特的研究医院梅奥诊所是该项目的合作伙伴。

The PillBot is designed to be the first motorized endoscopic camera. Here is how developers say it works: A patient does not eat for one day, then swallows the PillBot with lots of water. The PillBot acts like a small submarine controlled by a wireless remote control. When the exam is complete, the body will expel the PillBot in the same way it expels other solid waste.

PillBot 被设计为第一台电动内窥镜摄像机。 开发人员介绍其工作原理是这样的：患者一天不进食，然后用大量的水吞下 PillBot。 PillBot 就像一艘由无线遥控器控制的小型潜艇。 检查完成后，身体会像排出其他固体废物一样排出 PillBot。

Dr. Vivek Kumbhari is co-founder of the company. He is professor of medicine and chairman of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. It is the latest step toward his larger goal of making complex medicine more accessible.

Vivek Kumbhari 博士是该公司的联合创始人。 他是梅奥诊所的医学教授兼胃肠病学和肝病学主席。 这是他朝着让复杂医学更容易获得的更大目标迈出的最新一步。

If endoscopies can be moved from a hospital setting to a patient’s home, he said, "then I think we have achieved that goal." Use of the device would require fewer medical workers and no anesthesia, he said. The device provides "a safer, more comfortable approach,” he added.

Listen Now