By Eve Wackett

Nearly 70 million people suffer from gastrointestinal disorders (Digestive Disease Statistics from the National Institute of Health). Diagnosing the problem can lead to spending several thousands of dollars with little results or relief from pain.

Lockport Memorial Hospital (LMH) and Inter-Community Memorial Hospital (ICMH) announced the acquisition of a $30,000 M2A Capsule Endoscope made by Given Imaging. They are the first hospitals in the western New York to host the new state-of-the-art video pill.

The pill-shaped camera allows the patient to wear a special belt, swallow the pill and carry on with daily activities while the camera takes 54,000 pictures of the small intestine and disposes of itself naturally. The patient returns the belt to the physician the following day. Traditional endoscope procedures (Upper/Lower GI) don’t allow easy access to the small intestine and the patient usually enters the hospital for the procedure.

Madhav N. Deshmukh, M.D., who specializes in gastroenterology, will be the first physician to work with this system in the community.

“The M2A capsule endoscope system will allow me to enhance the care and treatment of my patients,” states Dr. Deshmukh, “I am able to diagnose small bowel disorders earlier and with greater precision, which means that our patients can resume their normal activities.”

The LMH Guild and the ICMH Auxiliary each provided $15,000 to assist physicians in pinpointing the causes of small intestine diseases including Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease, malignant tumors and other small bowel conditions.

“This is a significant advancement in the diagnosis of small bowel disorders and provides a cost-effective and patient convenient procedure,” Dr Deshmukh added. “We are pleased to have this important technology available at both hospitals and recognize the ICMH Auxiliary and the LMH Guild for their generosity and support.”

For additional information on the M2A capsule click on the follow link:

http://www.givenimaging.com/usa/default.asp