Capsule endoscopes have been around since the late 1990's. The basic idea is that you swallow a tiny camera that takes pictures of your intestinal tract as it is pushed through by peristalsis (the muscular contractions that move food along). A physician reviews the pictures and saves you the effort of getting a full colonoscopy.
The video attached below is an entirely different kettle of fish altogether. Part promotion, part meticulous engineering diagram, part spacey consciousness-expanding overflight, part disco, part theme park (no, really!), this entirely serious informational video must be seen (and heard) to be believed.
(Sayaka capsule endoscope video)
In fact, as far as I know, all of these features have been duplicated by other capsule endoscopes, notably the one by Olympus. But they don't have cool videos, do they?
The Sayaka capsule endoscope has a camera that spins around within the capsule, photographing one small section of the intestinal wall at a time.
(The Sayaka capsule endoscope's rotating camera)
The camera provides its own little flash, as well, providing intermittent lighting (or disco strobe!) during its eight-meter journey, which can last up to eight hours.
(Great view from behind capsule showing flash)
As many as 870,000 pictures are transmitted outside the body to a receiving unit. The software application that goes with the camera then stitches together the pictures into a smooth mosaic representing the inner surface of the intestinal tract.
(The Sayaka capsule endoscope creates an intestinal wall mosaic)
You're probably wondering about the theme park. Well, if the Disney people who made the rides at Epcot's Wonders of Life pavilion ever get a hold of this video (and maybe sponsorship by Sayaka, Olympus or one of the other companies), that ride is a done deal. I can hear that music now as my little four-person capsule is pushed gently along the track...
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'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...' - Hugo Gernsback, 1911.
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Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
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'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'