Technology is getting smaller and they say it will solve some of humanities worst problems. The truth is that there are many problems that have existed for a long time; most have been cured by diet, exercise, doctor trips, medicine, better communication tools, enhanced knowledge and better healing methods. This is all due to the ever increasing curiosity to find a solution. In the minds of engineers, chemist, developers, and doctors have begun to create wearables to create better ways to constantly collect physiological data. The most obvious of these are wearables worn on the wrist or chest. However, as time would tell it there are now “ingestables.” There are three currently on the market, and many more in the R&D phases.
Proteus was featured on our Smart Patches 2015 Market Assessment. They have an ingenious device that works in tandem with a monitoring pill, and patch. The pill is taken with the patients required medication. The pill communicates with the patch on the outside of the skin that sends all data metrics to an app, which the patient and the doctor can monitor.
Given Imaging is a company acquired by Medtronik. Together they aim to collect data on people with GI disorders. They invented an imaging system called PillCam, the new capsule endoscopy. They can monitor pH levels for people with GERD with high-resolution manometry. This process reduces the cost of doctor’s visits, and ensures more accurate diagnosis.
Melcap Systems is working to create a solution to overweight and obese people in the world. Their system works in three parts: first you swallow their electronic pill. Next you place the pill with a magnetics director into the correct location within the GI track (there are several locations – depending on your condition). Lastly the pill will release electronic stimulation to fake the person’s brain into thinking that they are “full”. Of course, the Melcap can (and will) naturally leave the body. Once this occurs the user can simply take another and re-do the entire process.
Over two years ago, Google X announced that they are creating a magnetic pill that can scan your body for cancer and other non-healthy things. The pill is said to be a game changer, because google only works on the world’s most top secret projects. The pill works by sending nanoparticles into your body. The nanoparticles come back to the head nano-bot to tell them what they found. This can help doctors to know what is happening behind the scenes in your body.
Look at that – ten years later and WT has named wearables, wristables, hearables, stickables and now ingestables. How many more –ables are there to create? We will find out as the quest to live with technology on our bodies continues.
