The Spider Pill – Breakthrough Medical Robotics or Chestbursters?

A possible reenactment via Lego

If your doctor asked you to take a "spider pill", would you?  I would politely decline, mostly because it sounds terrifying.  In reality, a spider pill does not contain actual spiders, but instead a tiny robotic camera (still terrifying).   It looks like a pill, but after it is swallowed and reaches the stomach, colon or intestines its legs open and allow it to move within the patient.  It is remote controlled, with a camera and a few lights on its head used to look for any signs of cancer.

Before the spider pill, a camera attached to a cable had to be fed into the patient, causing great discomfort and pain.  The spider pill is much less intrusive and hopefully a pain free alternative to having a cable crammed down your throat (or maybe somewhere else).  Is it possible that a spider pill could have any consequences?

A Spider Pill: This could be crawling around your stomach.

I'm not a doctor, but I would have to believe that most patients would probably choose a spider pill over a cable, especially if they have previously undergone a similar procedure.   Hopefully the robot doesn't go haywire and start shredding your insides or come bursting out of your chest.  These seem like far fetched outcomes, but remember this is fledgling technology.  Spider pills could eventually have an artificial intelligence built in, eliminating the need for a human operator.  Would you really want a robot wandering around your body?

Click  below to view a video on the topic from the BBC
BBC News: 'Spider Pills' used for scans

::from BBC via Engadget::