NHS rolls out capsule cameras to test for cancer

Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the NHS.

NHS England claims that the imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours. Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks at home.

An initial group of 11,000 NHS patients in England will receive the capsule cameras in more than 40 parts of the country.

The capsule endoscopy normally takes five to eight hours and provides full images of the bowel with information sent to a data recorder in a shoulder bag, so patients can go about their day. The cameras will help to speed up the checks, catching more cancers early when they are easier to treat.

Dame Cally Palmer, NHS national cancer director said: “It is thanks to the huge efforts of staff that more than 228,000 people started treatment for cancer during the pandemic and in 2020, hospitals carried out more than two cancer procedures for every patient they treated for the virus. As the NHS continues to prioritise cancer care, this latest innovation will ensure people can get the checks they need and conveniently – the cameras are small but they will make a big difference for patients.”

NHS England has already invested £160 million in Covid-friendly cancer treatments, which do not hit patients’ immune systems so hard and can reduce hospital trips, as well as delivering chemo to people’s doorsteps and using Covid-secure cancer hubs.