Dec 18 2014
PillCam® SB, Covidien’s wireless capsule endoscope, is now featured in the exhibit, “Tools: Extending Our Reach” at New York’s Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. PillCam SB is one of 175 installations highlighting how tools and innovations have extended the capabilities of the human body over the past two million years. The museum reopened on Dec. 12 after a three year renovation.
PillCam® SB uses a miniaturized camera contained in a disposable capsule that naturally passes through the digestive system, allowing physicians to directly view the small bowel, without sedation or radiation. This procedure helps health care practitioners detect and monitor lesions, ulcers, and tumors within the small bowel, which may be the source of obscure GI bleeding, Crohn’s disease and iron deficiency anemia. (Photo: Business Wire)
PillCam SB’s innovative and patient-friendly design earned it a place as one of the few objects outside the Smithsonian collection chosen for the exhibit. The vitamin-sized, disposable capsule contains a small camera that captures color images of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. LED lights provide illumination and an antenna wirelessly transmits the images to a receiver worn by the patient.
Once the capsule is ingested, patients can return to most of their daily activities as the capsule naturally passes through the digestive system, wirelessly transmitting more than 50,000 images of the small bowel to a receiver worn by the patient. Physicians can review the footage at a later time to identify potential abnormalities.
“When PillCam SB launched in 2001, it allowed physicians, for the first time, to visualize abnormalities such as Crohn’s disease and small bowel bleeding lesions throughout all 23 feet of the small bowel,” said Vafa Jamali, vice president and general manager, GI Solutions, Covidien. “We are proud that today, more than two and a half million capsules have taken physicians through a part of the body that many people long considered to be un-viewable without extreme measures.”
Visitors to the exhibit will be able to learn about PillCam SB’s miniaturized design components and view interactive tables that show animation of how the device measures its speed as it moves through the small bowel providing videos that are sharp and clear for the doctor to view. The exhibit is running from December 12, 2014 – May 25, 2015.
Jamali continued, “The Smithsonian Institution is acclaimed for its dedication to educating the public about history and innovative cultural advancements and we are honored to have PillCam SB included in this unique exhibit.”
About Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Founded in 1897, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The museum educates, inspires and empowers people through design, presenting compelling educational programs, exhibitions and publications. International in scope and possessing one of the most diverse and comprehensive collections of design works in existence, the museum’s rich holdings range from Egypt’s Late Period/New Kingdom (1100 B.C.) to the present day and total more than 210,000 objects.
About Covidien
Covidien is a global health care leader that understands the challenges faced by providers and their patients and works to address them with innovative medical technology solutions and patient care products. Inspired by patients and caregivers, Covidien’s team of dedicated professionals is privileged to help save and improve lives around the world. With more than 39,000 employees, Covidien operates in 150-plus countries and had 2014 revenue of $10.7 billion. To learn more about our business visit www.covidien.com or follow us on Twitter.