Do you ever find yourself wondering whether you took your medication or not?
You may soon have help, thanks to a pill that can communicate from inside your stomach.
The experimental capsule, developed by scientists at MIT in the US, contains not only medicine but also a biodegradable radio-frequency antenna. Once swallowed, the capsule’s coating dissolves, releasing the drug along with the antenna, which sends a brief wireless signal confirming that the medication was taken—usually within 10 minutes.
Most of the components of SAFARI (Smart Adherence via FARaday cage And Resorbable Ingestible) safely break down in the stomach, while the tiny radio chip passes naturally through the digestive tract.
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This technology could be especially useful for patients for whom sticking to medication schedules is critical, such as organ transplant recipients taking immunosuppressive drugs, or people being treated for long-term infections such as HIV or tuberculosis. It could also help patients with heart stents or neuropsychiatric disorders that may interfere with remembering to take medications.
In animal studies, the signal could be detected by a receiver up to two feet away. In the future, patients might wear a small device that picks up the signal and sends the information to their health care providers.
The report was published in the journal Nature Communications.