Scientists have developed a swallowable device that monitors body functions from your stomach and intestines.
An implant that can help the blind to see again, the paralyzed to walk again and treat diabetes patients. Thanks to the latest technical gadgets, we can help many people. But all of these methods require surgery. This is not necessary with a swallowable device. A ‘pill’ developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology simply monitors from your gastrointestinal tract whether your lungs and heart are still functioning properly. That’s how it can be read in the magazine Device.
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Vibrations in the body
The so-called Vitals-Monitoring Pill (VM-Pill) is about 25 millimeters long and 9 millimeters thick. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but the researchers say it’s worth it. Once it’s in your stomach, it starts picking up vibrations caused by your breathing and heart rate. These subtle vibrations can be measured throughout your body.
In addition to the trillingsensor the device also contains a microprocessor, a memory, a set of mini batteries and a radio transmitter. That transmitter sends information about your breathing and heart rate to a laptop every so often. It then sounds an alarm when your breath stops or your ricket does strange things.
How the Vital-Monitoring Pill works. (Illustration: Virginia E Fulford Alar Illustration)
Overdosis fentanyl
The research team, led by Giovanni Traverso, tested the VM-Pill in pigs. The animals were first given the pill (under anesthesia). They were then injected with an overdose of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a morphine-like substance that at this amount causes breathing to stop.
The ‘pill’ indeed turned out to be a good indicator of when the pigs were in respiratory distress. The researchers then gave them a drug that counteracts the effect of fentanyl, which saved the pigs.
Ademstops
Then it was people’s turn. Obviously not with fentanyl, because that would be unethical. Instead, the ‘pill’ was given to ten patients struggling with diabetes sleeping monkey. This is a disorder in which breathing regularly stops during sleep, which can lead to oxygen deficiency and severe fatigue.
In about 93 percent of cases, the device was able to correctly predict a patient’s breathing stop during sleep in the lab. And an increase or decrease in heart rate was even indicated correctly in 96 percent of the attempts.
According to Traverso and colleagues, the human experiment also showed that the VM-Pill is safe. It caused no side effects and simply disappeared into the toilet after a few days. There the ‘pill’ breaks down automatically and, according to the researchers, does not harm the environment.
Deliver medicine
The applications are clear, according to Traverso and his team. In addition to monitoring breathing in sleep apnea patients, they also consider people at risk of a fentanyl overdose. The so-called fentanyl crisis has been a major problem for years, especially in the US. Last year, 109,680 people died from an overdose of the extremely addictive painkiller, a record.
The researchers will now investigate whether they can upgrade the VM-Pill. One such upgrade is a longer stay in the body. In this way, patients can be followed for longer. They also want to develop pills that can not only monitor but can also immediately deliver a medicine in an emergency.
Sources: Device, Cell Press via EurekAlert!
Beeld: WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
2023-11-17 16:00:24
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