Drink Your Nanojuice And Let's Shine A Laser In Your Gut

Sunday, July 6, 2014 - 13:50 in Health & Medicine

The small intestine is not easy to examine. X-rays, MRIs and ultrasound images provide snapshots but each suffers limitations.   The average human small intestine is roughly 23 feet long and 1 inch thick. Sandwiched between the stomach and large intestine, it is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. It is also where symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, Crohn's disease and other gastrointestinal illnesses occur. To assess the organ, doctors typically require patients to drink a thick, chalky liquid called barium. Doctors then use X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasounds to assess the organ, but these techniques are limited with respect to safety, accessibility and lack of adequate contrast, respectively. read more

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