Towards Intelligent Capsules for Robust Wireless Endoscopic Imaging of the Gut
Résumé
Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) enables screening of the gastrointestinal tract by a swallowable imaging system. However, contemporary WCE systems have several limitations, which often result in low diagnostic yield. This paper introduces the concept of a next generation WCE system with embedded intelligence aiming to effectively minimize diagnostic errors. The proposed system is based on a novel wirelesslypowered hardware-software architecture integrating reconfigurable components that are optimized in terms of areatime complexity and power consumption. It integrates multispectral and 3D vision modules, and embedded intelligence for video quality control, accurate localization of the capsule and automatic detection of a broad spectrum of abnormalities. The feasibility of the proposed WCE system is qualitatively assessed with respect to the results obtained, and novel research directions are drawn.