Researchers design ingestible sensor for controlled drug release

Image courtesy of the researchers

Researchers from MIT, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Draper have developed a Bluetooth-controlled ingestible capsule that can sense the temperature of its environment and reside in the stomach for at least a month.

The device, which was tested in an animal study and composed of 3D-printed parts, is powered by a small silver oxide battery and relays data to a smartphone in close range.

The researchers predicted that its sensor could one day communicate with an array of wearable technologies. Their study was published in a December issue of the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.

“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,” Giovanni Traverso, a scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, told MIT News.

“We are excited about this demonstration of 3-D printing and of how ingestible technologies can help people through novel devices that facilitate mobile health applications,” Robert Langer, MIT’s David H. Koch Institute professor, added.