1. < Home

#ScopeScope: Mayo Clinic Colonoscopy on Periscope

Mayo Clinic made history on March 1, 2016 by broadcasting a colonoscopy live on Periscope, an initiative called the #ScopeScope.

Colorectal cancer claims nearly 50,000 lives each year in the U.S. alone, and yet with appropriate screening it is among the most preventable and curable cancers. That's why Mayo Clinic has collaborated with the national advocacy group Fight Colorectal Cancer for the last three years to encourage colorectal cancer screening.  In 2014 we hosted an awareness event at Target Field in Minneapolis with the Minnesota Twins, and last year we produced a music video featuring Mayo Clinic staff.

For the #ScopeScope, Mayo Clinic Social Media Network Director Lee Aase volunteered to have his colonoscopy broadcast on Periscope, a Twitter-owned mobile video platform. More than 3,000 viewers joined live, and nearly 1,800 watched the archive in the 24 hours it was available on Periscope. Here's the Mayo Clinic News Network story:

In addition to news coverage that included the Minneapolis Star Tribune, KAAL and KTTC TV, STATNews and BringMeTheNews.com, event video was featured in Times Square on March 2, as representatives from Fight Colorectal Cancer rang the closing bell at NASDAQ:

The goal of the project was to demystify colonoscopy and to encourage everyone over age 50 to get screened, whether by colonoscopy or through one of several other available methods.

Because many patients say the bowel prep the day before colonoscopy is the hard part, Lee also shared that process via social media, on Periscope, Vine, Facebook and Instagram. Here are highlights from the Periscope broadcasts of the prep:

Finally, here are video highlights of the Periscope broadcast, during which Dr. Jeffrey Alexander performed the procedure while Dr. Paul Limburg answered questions from viewers:

Related Links: