I am part of many engineering groups. We often talk about how engineers improve life for people. Sometimes there are boasts that we engineers are responsible for so many more lives than doctors. (SMILES!)
But leaving that debate for some other time, what if a doctor and an engineer come together? Wouldn't that create wonders? That's what happened in the case of Pill Cam.
The Israelis are known for their missile power and the research they do for development. One Israeli military engineer, Gavriel Iddan, was on a sabbatical to US. He met Dr Eitan Skapa. Once they broke into a conversation the doctor asked him-- As an engineer can Iddan help exploration of small bowel? Because that area in human body was not fully known to the doctors.
That's why the doctors prescribed multiple tests to patients. These tests needed a lot of preparation and were invasive, too. Many patients avoided these tests for the same reason. Which resulted in severe developments and even deaths.
Gavriel Iddan was working on missile projects, he wondered, can't guided missile systems be used for investigating and inspecting small bowel.
He got to work. That germ of an idea took 20 long year research for success. And he gifted to the world: Pill Cam.
Pill Cam is a marvellous invention, a small capsule that has cameras inside it. It uses a miniature version of the guided missiles. As it moves through the small bowel, it takes photographs of inside and doctors can visualise it on a computer screen.
Why it took 20 years to develop this invention?
To make it smaller to be ingested. And to make it safe and risk free. Plus, the technology required to make it successful wasn't available.
Now, isn't that a great example, how open-minded conversations can lead to new products, inventions and innovations.
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Resources:
Dr Gavriel Iddan: Wikipedia page--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavriel_Iddan
Pill Cam details:
Here is a detailed picture to show how advanced is this little capsule camera. It can take thousands of pictures an hour.
