Although capsule endoscopy is painless and noninvasive, requires no anesthesia, and essentially eliminates the pain associated with traditional gastroscopy, its limitations are still too great to replace gastroscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases.
Compared with gastroscopy, the currently applied capsule endoscopy still has several drawbacks.
- Poor maneuverability. It is difficult for the physician to comfortably manipulate the movement of the capsule endoscope to visualize a specific site.
- In the presence of large amounts of mucus or localized bleeding in the stomach, it is not possible to aspirate it with the aspiration device, resulting in a poor view of the examination.
- While clear images can be taken of the intra-digestive tract, the exact location cannot be clarified, and the location is often less reliable by running time alone.
- The inability to take tissue samples for pathological examination is a critical shortcoming for diagnosis.
- The cost of the examination is high. Currently, imported capsule endoscopes cost $8,000 to $10,000, and domestic capsule endoscopes cost slightly less for a single examination, but are also around $5,000, much higher than the several hundred dollars for a traditional gastroscopy.