Step 1: Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a swallowable camera capsule whose unique strength is direct visualization of the entire small-bowel mucosa, an area that conventional upper endoscopy and colonoscopy cannot reach.
Step 2: Crohn's disease characteristically affects the small bowel, especially the terminal ileum, with patchy skip lesions and aphthous ulcers. WCE has a higher diagnostic yield for early small-bowel Crohn's lesions than CT enterography or small-bowel barium series, making it the correct answer.
Step 3: The distractors are reached by standard scopes. Esophageal varices and gastric carcinoma are seen on upper GI endoscopy, and ulcerative colitis is confined to the colon and is assessed by colonoscopy. None of these require a capsule.
Step 4: Note the main contraindication: WCE must be avoided when a small-bowel stricture is suspected, since capsule retention may occur (less than 1 percent in suspected Crohn's, but 4 to 6 percent in established Crohn's disease).