Tethered capsule endomicroscopy enables less invasive imaging of gastrointestinal tract microstructure

Abstract

Here we introduce tethered capsule endomicroscopy, which involves swallowing an optomechanically engineered pill that captures cross-sectional microscopic images of the gut wall at 30 μm (lateral) × 7 μm (axial) resolution as it travels through the digestive tract. Results in human subjects show that this technique rapidly provides three-dimensional, microstructural images of the upper gastrointestinal tract in a simple and painless procedure, opening up new opportunities for screening for internal diseases.