Changes in the esophagus that precede cancer can now be detected without resorting to endoscopy. Scientists at the University of Cambridge came to this conclusion.

English experts believe that a similar result can be achieved using a much less unpleasant and time-consuming method – using a sponge on a string, which is enclosed in a special capsule.

The patient is allowed to swallow it, after which the capsule shell dissolves, the doctor pulls the sponge upward, and along the way she collects esophageal cells painlessly for the patient.

This procedure can be done by any therapist, and it lasts no more than 10 minutes.

Now scientists are going to test this technique on 120 thousand patients who have already been diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus. Experts think sponge-on-string will be 10 times more effective at diagnosing Barrett’s esophagus than traditional endoscopy.