The Agile Patency System is an accessory to the PillCam video capsule. It is intended to verify adequate patency of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with known or suspected strictures prior to administration of the PillCam video capsule.
Clinical situations that might preclude the use of a PillCam video capsule unless intestinal patency can be confirmed include:
Suspicion of Strictures
- Crohn's disease
- Chronic NSAID use
- Tumors
- Radiation enteritis
Functional Patency
The use of patency capsules has provided new information regarding strictures, introducing the concept of functional patency.
"The Given patency capsule may provide direct evidence of functional patency of the gut lumen, even in those patients showing radiological evidence of small bowel stricture. This information may allow a distinction between rigid fibrotic strictures and flexible ones."
~Spada et al. Endoscopy 2005; 17(9):793-800