Researchers in japan have developed a remotely controlled miniature camera that can be used for endoscopy.
It looks a bit like a tadpole. It appears very similar to the “capsule endoscopy” cameras that came on the scene several years ago. With those, you basically swallowed a camera that was encased in a clear pill shaped container. This thing passively moved along your gastrointestinal tract snapping pictures until you pooped it out.
With this new gizmo from Japan, it’s not a passive journey. It has a little mechanical tail sticking out of it with which a doctor using a joystick can control it and basically pilot it through your GI tract.
It can apparently be inserted from either end….i.e. via your mouth or your “other end”.
According to this article, it was originally tested on dogs and is now ready for us.
Some potential advantages I see are the ability to get pictures within places not really reachable with current endoscopes…i.e. the small intestine, and also, I would imagine this procedure would likely need less anesthesia/sedation perhaps.
The potential negatives I see are 1. This thing getting stuck somewhere and requiring surgery to remove and 2. This thing causing a perforation, illeus or intususception.
Still, overall it looks like a pretty cool device to me.
And right on the heels of my last post about the FDA warnings on Actos and Avandia and the inevitable lawsuits to come….here’s a new FDA warning about Chantix and increased cardiovascular risk.
Chantix lawsuit anyone?
Here’s my page on Chantix from a couple years ago. Enjoy.
Cheers!
Hi Everyone! I’m still alive.
I realize I haven’t posted anything in what seems like forever. I think the last time I posted, the Saints had just won the Superbowl and as expected Hell froze over.
As some who know me know, I’ve long used the analogy of building a lifeboat in case the metaphorical ship I’m a passenger on goes down. That “Ship” basically represents life in America, life as a primary care physician in America, etc.
Well, over the past couple years, construction on the “lifeboat” has been in full swing. Finally a small prototype was felt to be ready for a test run about a year ago, and it was finally “put in the water” back in February of this year.
So far, the test run is going pretty well, and life is good floating out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Those who know me well, will understand all of the cryptic talk in this post.
Those who don’t know me well really ought to get to know me. I’m a nice guy, and I just might share some “lifeboat” plans.
Cheers,
Sam
GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!!!!!
After many long years of hoping, praying, rooting, and ultimately echoing the chorus of “Just wait til next year!”, I am delighted to observe that “Next Year” has finally arrived!!!!
What an awesome game to cap an awesome season.
Way to geaux Saints!!!! Way to Geaux!!!!
Who Dat? Baby!!!!
Dr. Crippen at NHS Blog Doctor has a pretty good post today. (Well actually, he often has pretty good posts, but I sometimes have trouble getting through his British accent. 
Take a look here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/27/ST2008042702198.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/washington/26farm.html?ref=us
You know, this whole sub-thread just gave me a great idea.
Everybody keeps complaining about the cost of health-care.
How bout if the govt just starts giving me a check every month to NOT see patients.
I’d give them a deep discount. They could pay me say 50 bucks for every patient that I don’t see, as opposed to what those patient visits would otherwise cost, which would usually be greater than 50 bucks.
So the govt. would save money on every patient by simply paying me to NOT see them.
If they agree to this, I could really ramp up my productivity a lot too.
I bet that once I get in a groove, I could probably NOT see at least a thousand patients a day.
I think I’ll write this up as a proposal for a demonstration project and submit it to Medicare.
