Researchers at the University of Washington have invented a safer and more economic option that might rid cancer patients of having to undergo sedation and endoscopic diagnoses. The reusable camera pill consists of seven fiber optic cables encased in a capsule not bigger than a typical painkiller. The pill’s primary developer Eric Seibel, who is also an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University, says that using the camera feels just like swallowing a pill attached to a string. The pill however, is expected to become commonplace among patients and doctors soon as it promises to prove very advantageous in laparoscopic surgery apart from examination of delicate area like the fallopian tubes and lungs, and is relatively quite cheap at $300 as compared to $5000 scopes.

Full story: gizmowatch.com