Swallow that...a capsule for tummy will release drugs on a command from your smartphone
A SPACE-AGE drug capsule that can be swallowed and controlled within the body by a smartphone could spell the end to painful injections.
The robotic pill has been designed to deliver medication to people with a variety of conditions that require long-term regular doses.
Diabetes and cancer patients could be among those to benefit from the revolutionary device which scientists believe can be developed further to diagnose early signs of disease.
It could mean patients can receive treatment without regular appointments at hospitals.
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the US, believe the capsule could revolutionise medical treatment.
The inch-long capsule, powered by a silver oxide battery, unfolds into a Y-shape after being ingested, which allows its arms to expand to lodge itself in the stomach.
It remains there for around a month before slowing breaking apart and leave the body through the digestive tract. One of the expanded arms includes four small compartments that can be loaded with a variety of drugs that can be released gradually over several days.
The researchers hope to design the compartments so they can be opened using wireless Bluetooth technology.
The device can also carry sensors that relay information to doctors.
Vital
Sensors have been developed that can detect vital signs such as heart rate and breathing rate as well as monitoring body temperature.
Scientists also believe the device could work with other wearable health devices and implants.
Report co-author Dr Giovanni Traverso 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. We are really excited about the potential for gastric resident electronics to serve as platforms for mobile health to help patients remotely.”
The device could also help to maintain the strict dosing regimes required for patients with conditions including HIV and malaria.
Professor Robert Langer, also from MIT, added that the development showed “how ingestible technologies can help people through novel devices that facilitate mobile health applications”.
Researchers are exploring the possibility of replacing the battery with alternative power sources, such as stomach acid.
In the study, to be published in the Advanced Materials Technologies journal, researchers tested the temperature sensor in pigs and estimate that within two years, they may be able to start testing ingestible sensors in human patients.
The system has been designed to operate at close range, as a security measure to prevent hacking.