Capsule endoscopes, pill-sized cameras that patients swallow so doctors get pictures of their gut, are doing brisk business, according to a new market report teaser, released Monday.

Kalorama Information, a market research firm, says it's one of the fastest growing segments of the gastrointestinal devices market, and has grown 12.9 percent since 2007, reaching sales of approximately $203 million in 2011. As a whole, the GI device market stands at $14.6 billion as of last year, according to Kalorama.

"Capsule endoscopy systems have been marketed for a decade, but now we are seeing the impact of second-generation products and new competitors," Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama, said in a statement.

The first capsule endoscope, the PillCamSB, made by Israeli company Given Imaging, was released in fall 2001 for small bowel studies. It's now in its second generation.

Given also makes the PillCam ESO, which is for views of the esophagus. A capsule endoscope for the colon never came out in the United States, as it was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but Given is trying to get the second-generation product, PillCam COLON 2, out in the U.S. This product received European Union clearance in late 2009, Given said.

In a September interview with the Israeli magazine Globes, Given said it was at work on a new capsule endoscope that could be controlled remotely by a physician. Current capsule endoscopes are simply passed through the body by the digestive system.

Given's main competitor in this space is Olympus Corp., the world's largest endoscope manufacturer, which released the Endo Capsule in 2007, Kalorama said.

Kalorama is a subsidiary of MarketResearch.com. The full 200-page report is "The World Market for Gastrointestinal Devices."

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