Patients who plan to undergo colonoscopy should be on the lookout for the Aer-O-Scope, a new self-propelled colonoscope – still under development.

Colonoscopy, long the gold-standard for colorectal cancer screening, requires specialized training and sedation and can have complications, such as colon perforation. A newly developed instrument could be used with minimal training, without sedation, and perhaps with fewer complications, according to its developers.

The instrument under development is called an Aer-O-Scope. It is an endoscope that is inserted into the rectum between two balloons and is propelled through the colon by air pressure that is regulated automatically. When the instrument reaches the cecum, the process is reversed to push it back out through the colon and rectum.

In a study of 12 healthy volunteers who were not sedated, the device completed all or part of a colon examination successfully. Two volunteers asked for pain medication, and four others experienced discomfort, but there were no complications up to 30 days after the exam. (Just to be safe, there was follow-up with a regular colonoscopy.)

One disadvantage: Unlike a traditional colonoscope, with the robotic device it is not possible to remove polyps at the time of the exam, which means a possible second procedure. Also, as with a regular colonoscopy, bowel cleansing preparation is required before the procedure. [Reported in the journal Gastroenterology, Volume 130, page 672.]