York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded £3 million to lead national research into the colon capsule endoscopy, a more comfortable device that could begin to replace colonoscopies as the NHS’s go-to test for bowel cancer. Following a successful pilot of the devices in York and Scarborough due to necessity — when social distancing rules during the COVID pandemic made colonoscopies next to impossible— the trust has been chosen to lead its implementation in 30 sites across the UK.
A spokesperson for the trust has described colon capsule endoscopy as an easy-to-swallow ‘camera in a capsule’, which once swallowed, travels through the stomach and small intestine to the large bowel.
It then takes photographs of the inner lining of the bowel. The images are sent to a recorder that the patient wears, which is then downloaded. Eventually, the capsule passes naturally out of the body within the stool. This provides consultants with a minimally invasive, remotely accessible, and innovative tool to diagnose bowel cancer, colitis, and pre-malignant polyps.
If the study is successful, the colon capsule endoscopy could rapidly increase the capacity for diagnosing bowel cancer and other bowel diseases and so reduce waiting times. It is also hoped that the technology will increase patient satisfaction since it rarely causes pain and for some end the requirement to travel long distances for a colonoscopy. Instead, patients could swallow the capsule in a GP surgery or the comfort of their own homes, which allows more flexibility for patient needs.
Professor James Turvill, Consultant Gastroenterologist, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, explained: “It has taken 15 years of hard work to get to this stage and it is a real privilege to think that I am working on a project that may change the way bowel cancer is diagnosed in future, both in the UK and internationally. Working on the project is the pinnacle of my career and comes as we complete the largest evaluation ever undertaken into the use of colon capsule endoscopy in bowel cancer diagnosis.”
The Chief Executive of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said, “The colon capsule endoscopy has a great deal of potential and we are excited and privileged to be leading its national evaluation. If successful, the potential benefit to patients cannot be underestimated.
Results of the trial will be made public in 2026-2027.
Add a comment