The trial team found that one camera called the HD-PHL was better at finding a certain type of polyp and adenoma.
Polyps 
and
adenomas 
can be either an outgrowth from the bowel wall or flat against the bowel wall. A polyp is less likely to develop into cancer than an adenoma is.
This trial was open for people to join between May 2012 and August 2013.
These results were submitted to a journal to be published in 2019.
About this trial
Everyone had a colonoscopy as part of the national bowel screening programme. Two different cameras were used:
- standard definition Olympus Lucera (SD-OL)
- high definition Pentax Hi-Line (HD-PHL)
This was a
randomised trial. The people who took part were put into 1 of 2 groups. Neither they or their doctor chose which group they were in.
129 people had their colonoscopy using the SD-OL.
133 people had their colonoscopy using the HD-PHL.
Results
147 people were diagnosed with at least 1 polyp. The total number of polyps diagnosed was 347:
- 194 polyps by the HD-PHL
- 153 polyps by the SD-OL
The team looked at in how many people polyps and adenomas each camera found.
Of the 133 people who had a colonoscopy using the HD-PHL camera:
- 74 people (55.6%) had at least 1 polyp
- 58 people (43.6%) had adenomas
Of the 129 people who had a colonoscopy using the SD-OL camera:
- 73 people (56.6%) had at least 1 polyp
- 59 people (45.7%) had adenomas
The trial team said this shows that the performance of both cameras was very similar.
Flat polyps and flat adenomas are more likely to develop into cancers. The researchers looked at how good each camera was at detecting these. They found that:
- just under 19 out of every 100 times (18.6%) the HD-PHL detected flat polyps and flat adenomas
- just over 5 out of every 100 times (5.2%) the SD-OL detected flat polyps and flat adenomas
Conclusion
The trial team concluded the HD-PHL was better at detecting flat adenomas and polyps. This advantage could lead to a lower rate of colon cancer happening after a colonoscopy. And could improve the prevention and detection of colon cancer.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on information from the research team. As far as we are aware, the information they sent us has not been reviewed independently (
peer reviewed 
) or published in a medical journal yet. The figures we quote above were provided by the research team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.