LOS ANGELES -- California health officials have announced the state will cover capsule endoscopy under the Medicare program.
The coverage includes reimbursement of the procedure for an examination of the small intestine and is available to more than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries in the state who suffer from digestive diseases.
Simon Lo, MD, director of endoscopy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says the technology gives doctors another chance at diagnosing disease in the small intestine.
"California Medicare is taking the lead to provide coverage for diagnosing disorders of the small intestine, which we have not been able to address effectively until now," he says. "We expect that other insurance companies will follow suit to allow physicians to more easily utilize this breakthrough technology effectively and appropriately."
The M2A capsule endoscope is an ingestible camera manufactured by Given Imaging. The Israeli company received Food and Drug Administration approval of the device in 2001.
For more information, log on to www.givenimaging.com
Polyp Man Ads Tell Americans To Be Tested For Cancer
NEW YORK -- A goofy man in a red suit hops around the television screen, running from doctors and healthcare workers. A supervillain of carcinogenic character, Polyp Man comically runs from diagnostic methods in an advertising campaign sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
The advertisements have been created to help motivate Americans age 50 and older to be tested for colorectal cancer. An estimated 44 percent of Americans are currently tested, yet more than 50 percent of all colon cancer deaths could have been prevented from early screening.
Polyps, while often benign, are the perfect environment for cancer cells to multiply.
The tag line for the campaign is, "Get the test. Get the polyp. Get the cure."
Included in the campaign is a screensaver that can be downloaded (www.desktoppolyp.com/coloncancer/). Polypman, who comes with a variety of interesting sounds and dance moves, jumps around the screen and spray paints "I love colons," among other things. The screensaver is a humorous method of motivating Americans to be tested.
Carrots Created Containing Hep B Vaccine
BERLIN -- A team of German researchers have created modified carrots that contain a hepatitis B vaccination. After experimenting with tomatoes and potatoes, the scientists say carrots may be the most efficient way to prevent the liver-attacking virus.
Rather than following the expensive, traditional method of a three-injection vaccine, plant and virus specialist have grown thousands of carrots that contain the hepatitis B surface antigen.
The viral disease has infected an estimated 350 million globally and may kill more than 1 million annually.
Carrots were selected because they can be consumed raw, can be planted in many climates and are easy to store and transport. The report will be released in the Dutch journal Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture.
Information from www.reuters.com
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Colonoscopy Technology Waves to Future
STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- A computer scientist at the State University of New York, Stony Brook has developed a hands-free method of colonoscopy that uses highly detailed radio waves to tract polyps.
The computerized tomography (CT) scans examine the patient's entire colon during the two 40-second scans. The computer converts the images into 1-mm-thick slices of the colon, which are in turn developed into a 3D model of the area. From these images, physicians can examine polyps and take an electronic biopsy to determine malignancy. The system reportedly identifies polyps as small as 3 mm in diameter.
Traditionalists point out the obvious flaw in the system: while it can see the whole surface of the colon and it is painless and less expensive, the system cannot remove polyps. Patients must return for a colonoscopy if a tumor is discovered.
Information from Science magazine