Digital pill collects data in the stomach

Digital pill collects data in the stomach of the patient

24/08/2012

Not too long ago, digital pills were in science fiction movies and had little to do with reality. In the US that could change now. At the end of July, the US Food and Drug Administration „Food and Drug Administration“ (FDA) of the California manufacturer „Proteus Digital Health "granted the official approval for such a drug. „Helius“ is due to be launched at the end of 2012 in the UK market. This is a so-called digital pill in which a microchip has been integrated. If this comes into contact with the gastric juice inside the body, the chip is activated and records data such as body temperature, heart rate or information about ingested substances and drugs. Subsequently, these are passed on over a Smartphone to the attending physician. The online edition of the British daily newspaper „The Independent“ ironically „The chips that are good for your health“.

Digital pill sends data from the inside of the body to the attending physician
People who need regular medication may be happy about the digital pill. For example, once the medication is forgotten, the attending physician could remind the patient with a text message. How it works, reports the science magazine „Nature ".

If the patient takes the digital pill with integrated microchip, it is activated in the stomach by contact with the gastric juice. From this point, data on heart rate, movement, body temperature but also on ingested substances are collected. The microchip, which is just a grain of sand, then transmits the information to a smartphone via a plaster with a battery attached to the outside of the skin. If the patient agrees to the data transfer, the information is sent directly to the attending physician, who can then react immediately to changes or deviations.

„The most important and basic thing we can monitor is the current physical application of the drug“, reports Andrew Thompson, Managing Director of „Proteus Digital Health“ across from „Nature“. „We tested the system on hundreds of patients in many different therapeutic areas. It has been tested in tuberculosis, mental health, heart failure, high blood pressure and diabetes.“

Digital pill is not new
As the science magazine further informs, the invention of the digital pill is not new. Accordingly, the small ingestible sensors have a long history. In the 1980s, NASA is said to have developed ingestible thermometers to measure the body temperature of astronauts. The thermometers are now also used by athletes. In addition, edible cameras have been developed in pill form to record images of the digestive organs.

„There are a number of companies that have been busy integrating different technologies into pills to capture the inside of the body“, explains Jonathan Cooper from the University of Glasgow „Nature“ and adds that if you incorporate the functionality of a sensor, there is a greater need for energy and the pills get bigger. These are then harder to swallow. For pills with small cameras is loud „Nature“ also the problem that they could get stuck in the digestive tract. For example, Cooper and his team have previously tried to develop a pill that can detect tiny traces of blood in the gut to detect colon cancer. Ultimately, they would have decided to use their existing technology to monitor stool samples. (Ag)

Image: Harald Wanetschka, Pixelio