Rapid and non-invasive detection of upper gastrointestinal bleeding

What is PillSense and how can it help you?

Imagine a small intelligent pill, called PillSense, that you swallow. This pill was created to help doctors quickly and safely find out if you have bleeding in the upper part of your digestive system (such as in the stomach or the first part of the small intestine).

How does this pill work?

Once swallowed, PillSense uses a smart light-based method to detect if there is blood in your stomach or intestine. It’s like it has a small sensor that “sees” the blood. The good news is that it sends the results to doctors in approximately 10 minutes! This method is not painful and does not require any complicated external intervention.

What did researchers discover about PillSense?

Studies have shown that PillSense is a very useful and safe tool. Here are the main observed benefits:

• Faster diagnosis: Doctors can find out much faster if you are bleeding or not.
• Shorter hospitalization: If the PillSense result is negative (meaning it does not detect blood), you may spend less time in the hospital.
• Fewer invasive investigations: In some cases (approximately one-third of patients with a negative result in the study), patients could avoid a procedure called esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). EGD is an investigation where a thin tube with a camera is inserted through the mouth to examine the stomach and duodenum. Although useful, it is more invasive than swallowing a pill.
• Better medical decisions: The information provided by PillSense helped doctors in 80% of cases decide on the best treatment plan or additional investigations for patients.
  • For example, if PillSense confirmed active bleeding, doctors could prioritize urgent interventions for those patients (in approximately 18% of cases).
• More efficient use of hospital resources: Since some patients could avoid additional procedures or were discharged sooner, the hospital could better use resources (such as endoscopy rooms or medical staff) for patients who needed them the most.
• Better overall condition for those with a negative result: Patients who had a negative PillSense result generally had a more stable health condition and required fewer blood transfusions compared to those where bleeding was detected.

Why is PillSense important in medical practice?

PillSense is considered an important tool because:

• It helps with rapid patient triage – meaning sorting patients according to the urgency of their condition.
• It can help differentiate whether bleeding is coming from the upper or lower part of the digestive system.
• It provides doctors with clear and rapid evidence to make informed decisions, especially in cases where there are suspicions but the situation is not very clear.

What else should you know?

While PillSense is an important advancement, it’s also good to know what it cannot do:

• It doesn’t pinpoint the exact source of bleeding: Even if it detects blood, PillSense cannot say exactly where in the stomach or intestine the bleeding is coming from. For this, other investigations, such as EGD, may still be necessary.
• It doesn’t completely replace other tests: PillSense is a very valuable assisting tool, but it doesn’t necessarily eliminate the need for other protocols or medical tests, depending on each patient’s situation.

In conclusion:

PillSense is a new and promising technology that can make the diagnosis of upper digestive bleeding faster, less invasive in some cases, and more efficient. It is an important aid for doctors, contributing to better patient care and better management of medical resources. If your doctor recommends PillSense, you can be confident that it is a modern and safe method to evaluate possible digestive bleeding.

Source Medscape