capsule endoscopy

noun

: visualization of the interior of the digestive tract by means of a wireless camera encased in a pill-sized capsule that is swallowed

The concept of capsule endoscopy is quite simple—the patient swallows a small camera which takes pictures as it tumbles through the length of the digestive tract … . The capsule contains a light source that acts as a flash, a camera for taking pictures, and a transmitter that sends the images for storage to a device worn around the patient's waist.

—Benjamin Siemanowski, The Bellingham (Washington) Herald

capsule endoscope noun

Over the last four years, a so-called capsule endoscope—a grape-sized camera-in-a-pill that takes pictures of a patient's small intestines—has gone from being a novelty to an established method of diagnosing problems in the small intestines, including bleeding, pain and cancer.

—Michael E. Hochman, The Boston Globe