Pill created at MIT “talks” to the doctor (and reports misbehaving patients)

MIT engineers have designed capsules with biodegradable radiofrequency antennas that reveal when the pill has been swallowed.

In a breakthrough that could help ensure people take their medication on time, engineers at MIT have designed a pill able to inform when it was swallowed.

The new communication system, which can be incorporated into existing tablet capsules, contains a biodegradable radio frequency antenna.

After sending the signal that the pill has been consumed, most of the components breaks down in the stomachwhile a tiny radio frequency chip is expelled from the body through the digestive tract.

This type of system could be useful for monitor transplant patients who need to take immunosuppressive medications, or people with infections such as HIV or tuberculosis, who need treatment for a prolonged period, the researchers say.

“The goal is to ensure this helps people receive the therapy they need to maximize their health,” he says. Giovanni Traversoassociate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, in .

Traverso is the main author of the new , which was published this Thursday in the magazine Nature Communications. Mehmet Girayhan Sayscientific researcher at MIT, and Sean Youa former MIT postdoctoral researcher, are the paper’s lead authors.

A pill that communicates

A lack of rigor on the part of patients taking your medications as prescribed by your doctors is a major challenge that contributes to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and billions of dollars in health care costs annually.

To make it easier for people to take medication, the Traverso laboratory has been working on administration capsules which can remain in the digestive system for days or weeks, releasing doses at pre-determined times. But this approach could not be compatible with all drugs.

“We have developed systems that can remain in the body for a long time and we know that these systems can improve administrationbut we also recognize that, for certain medications, we cannot change the tablet,” says Traverso.

“The question becomes: what more can we do to help the person and their health care providers to ensure you are receiving your medication?”, notes Traverso.

In their new study, researchers focused on a strategy that would allow doctors monitor more closely whether patients are taking their medication.

Using radio frequencya type of signal that can be easily detected from outside the body and is safe for human beingsdesigned a capsule that can communicate after the patient has swallowed it.

There have been previous attempts to develop radiofrequency-based signaling devices for drug capsules, but they were all made from components that do not decompose easily in the body and would have to travel through the digestive system.

To minimize the potential risk of any obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract, the MIT team decided to create a radiofrequency-based system that was bioresorbablewhich means it can be broken down and absorbed by the body. The antenna that sends the radio frequency signal is made of zinc and it is incorporated into a cellulose particle.

“We chose these materials knowing their very favorable safety profiles and also the environmental compatibility“says Traverso.

The zinc-cellulose antenna is rolled up and placed inside a capsule together with the drug to be administered. The outer layer of the capsule is made of gelatin coated with a layer of cellulose and molybdenum or tungsten, which blocks the emission of any radio frequency signal.

Once the capsule is swallowed, the coating decomposesreleasing the drug together with the radiofrequency antenna.

The antenna can then capture a radio frequency signal sent by an external receiver and, working in conjunction with a small radio frequency chip, sends back a signal to confirm that the capsule has been swallowed. This communication takes place within 10 minutes after the tablet is swallowed.

The radio frequency chip, which measures about 400 by 400 micrometersis a commercial chip that is not biodegradable and has to be excreted through the digestive tract. All other components break down in the stomach within a week.

“The components are designed to decompose over days using materials with well-established safety profiles, such as zinc and cellulose, which are already widely used in medicine,” says Say.

“Our goal is avoid long-term accumulationwhile allowing a reliable confirmation that a pill has been takenand long-term safety will continue to be evaluated as the technology advances toward clinical use.”