A camera in a pill for patients who have incomplete colonoscopies has been approved by the FDA.

The PillCam Colon, a swallowed capsule endoscope manufactured by Israeli medical device maker Given Imaging, can be used to detect polyps in the estimated 750,000 U.S. patients per year whose colonoscopies aren't completed because of anatomic and other factors.

Dublin-based Covidien PLC has announced plans to acquire Given Imaging for $860 million, a transaction that's expected to be completed by the end of March.

Jim Burger