Two major drug firms are pushing for new technology that would allow the development of digestible microchips that can inform doctors whether or not their patients have been taking their pills as instructed.
Supporters of the new ingestible event markers (IEMs) technology say it would offer help for patients who are elderly or those who take drugs for mental conditions on a regular basis.
“ËœThis is all about empowering patients and their families because it measures wellness, and people can actually be tracked getting better,” said Professor Nick Peters, a cardiologist at Imperial College London.
So far, two major drug companies are backing the technology being developed by Proteus Biomedical in the US.
Trials involving the edible microchip, called Raisin, are to begin in the UK within 12 months.
Patients using the Raisin System will also be able to see how well their body is responding to the medications prescribed.
The IEMs are activated by stomach fluids after swallowing, according to Proteus.
“Once activated, the IEM sends an ultra low-power, private, digital signal through the body to a microelectronic receiver that is either a small bandage style skin patch or a tiny device insert under the skin,” according to a statement on the company’s Web site.
“The receiver date- and time-stamps, decodes, and records information such as the type of drug, the dose, and the place of manufacture, as well as measures and reports physiologic measures such as heart rate, activity, and respiratory rate.”
IEMs are manufactured on silicon wafers that are cheap to produce at just a few cents per censor in large quantities.
“Psychologically speaking, that’s hugely helpful for patients and enormously reassuring for carers,” said Peters.
“Normally patients would have to be in hospital to get this level of feedback, so the hope is that it frees up beds and saves the NHS money.”
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