Electronic pill connects to external device

An ingestible sensor is able to release drugs and relay diagnostic information wirelessly to an external device, such as a smartphone.

The capsule, developed by researchers at MIT, Draper, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, unfolds into a Y-shape after being swallowed, enabling it to remain in the stomach for about a month before breaking into pieces and passing through the digestive tract.

Giovanni Traverso, a visiting scientist at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: “Our system could provide closed-loop monitoring and treatment, whereby a signal can help guide the delivery of a drug or tuning the dose of a drug.”

One of the arms includes four small compartments that can be loaded with a variety of drugs, which it can release in response to smartphone commands.

Researchers believe such a sensor could be used to diagnose early signs of disease and respond with medication. Possible uses cases include monitoring people at high risk for infection, such as patients receiving chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs, or releasing antihistamines when it detects an allergic reaction.

The capsule can also monitor temperature and gastric environment and relay information via a wireless signal to a smartphone within arm’s length. It's 3D-printed from alternating layers of stiff and flexible polymers and powered by a silver oxide battery, but researchers are exploring alternative power sources, such as stomach acid.

Yong Lin Kong, Assistant Professor at the University of Utah and the research paper’s lead author, said: “Multimaterials 3D-printing is a highly versatile manufacturing technology that can create unique multicomponent architectures and functional devices, which cannot be fabricated with conventional manufacturing techniques.

“We can potentially create customised ingestible electronics where the gastric residence period can be tailored based on a specific medical application, which could lead to a personalised diagnostic and treatment that is widely accessible.”

The researchers’ work is published in Advanced Materials Technologies.

[caption id="attachment_69295" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: MIT, Draper, Brigham and Women's Hospital[/caption]