A team of Norwegian researchers are developing a "next generation" smart pill camera that will be able to transmit HD video of people's digestive tracts.

The endoscopic capsule is designed to be swallowed and will incorporate a miniature HD video camera, a light source, a radio transmitter and a battery. It will be capable of recording HD video of the patient's digestive tract, sending real time images through the body using ultra wide band radio waves (.pdf), which will be picked up by a belt of receivers worn around the patient's waist.

The main challenge is the huge amounts of data -- 30 frames-per-second -- that the tiny device needs to process. The team has developed an algorithm that compresses the video to just three percent of its original size to try and solve that. 

The research project, called Melody, involves Oslo University Hospital, the University of Oslo, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and 22 other partners.

The technology has been tested on pigs, but the antenna could only pick up strong signals if the transmitter was less than five centimetres below the surface of the skin. The team is working on a separate radar-based imaging system that would allow for transmissions from deeper inside the abdomen and chest.

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