A Sheffield doctor who pioneered the use of a tiny pill camera to detect problems in the intestine and stomach, has won a national prize in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field.
Professor Mark McAlindon, a consultant gastroenterologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has received the prestigious British Society of Gastroenterology’s Hopkins Endoscopy Prize for leading the way in the development of a technique known as capsule endoscopy.
The tiny, vitamin-sized pill contains a microchip inside which works a miniature camera to take pictures of the digestive tract as it journeys over an average eight-hour period through the body. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s gastroenterology centre was the first centre in the UK to use the technology in clinical practice.
Professor Mark McAlindon is the second leading expert from the Trust to win the eminent national prize, which was also awarded to Dr Reena Sidhu in 2012.
Professor McAlindon said: “I am extremely honoured and humbled to have received this well-renowned award, which is further national recognition of Sheffield’s status as one of the leading endoscopic centres in the UK with one of the largest small bowel services in Europe. Although it is an individual award, I would like to acknowledge my appreciation of my fantastic colleagues at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and across the UK who have put in over 15 years’ work to continue to develop this groundbreaking technology for the benefit of patients.
The Hopkins Endoscopy Prize is awarded annually by the British Society of Gastroenterology, with prize winners delivering a lecture in front of renowned figures from across the world at the British Society of Gastroenterology’s national conference. The award is named after Harold Hopkins, an engineer who developed modern flexible endoscopy instruments using fibre optics.
