BodyCap is a french company with innovative solutions for elite sports and e-health. Shortly before speaking at the upcoming WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2017 Europe we interviewed the CEO Sébastien Moussay to learn more about BodyCap.
What is BodyCap and what does it do?
Very few solutions have the ability to reliably measure parameters in an ambulatory situation, with automatic reliable data upload while respecting standards and constraints specific to the medical domain. BodyCap aims to meet this target. BodyCap develops miniaturized sensors to capture and wirelessly communicate physiological parameter values, for hospitalized or ambulatory patients. Targeted markets are healthcare and clinical research, bringing hospitals and laboratories as direct customers.
Fabrice Verjus and Sébastien Moussay have created the company by bringing together their complementary skills in electronics and life sciences. They share their knowledge and their experience in development and in the validation of medical devices.
Body Temperature has been measured and used for diagnosis since 1868. Techniques and tools have continuously progressed with the aim to get results close to central temperature, the internal one, and to improve the accuracy and reliability of the measure. Today, continuity of measurement is solely ensured by invasive devices such as rectal or oesophagal probes.
For these reasons, BodyCap developed a new sensor called e-Celsius®, dedicated to the continuous measurement of gastrointestinal temperature for physiological monitoring of the patient. This product was launched in October 2015 for Elite Sport to optimize performances and military uses. The Medical Version of the Systems received CE Marking in December 2016, allowing the core business to market during Q1 2017.
Our second solution, e-TACT® will be released in the course of Q1 2017. This product is a connected patch, combining Temperature and Actimetry measurement. e-TACT® is dedicated to activity tracking in chronic disease patients (Heart disease, Diabetes, Overweight People) and prevention of falling in seniors.
How did you come up with the idea of an ingestible pill filled up with electronic components?
As a scientist, I was focused on Chronobiological issues in elite athletes. Most of the studies focusing on chronobiology consider internal temperature variation as a marker of individual rhythmicity. In the context of elite sports performance, the current devices were not suitable: too invasive (rectal or oesophagal probes), not enough accurate or reliable (tympanic measurement systems…), too expensive, …
Considering the lack of existing solutions, we decided, in the context of a Private/public consortium to develop an innovative solution combining all the benefits of each existing solution: Ambulatory, reliable, accurate, non-invasive, not too expensive and allowing continuous measurements.
The concept of Ingestible electronic pills is not a new one. This concept has existed for more than 20 years. Ingestible pills are currently used for Imaging, as an alternative to colonoscopy.
How did you manage to fit all the electronic components in a pill and make it safe to ingest?
All of this is in the core know-how of the company. One of the main difficulties consists in the identification of the standards in force and to comply with them. We had to develop the product, taking into account the final cost of the product, the industrialization constraints, all the regulatory compliance (plastics, assembly,…) and of course the performance of the device, considering its accuracy, life battery duration, transmission distance,…
What kind of vital signs can the pill measure/monitor?
The current version of the pill is an accurate thermometer, that can be used in every acute phase of a treatment or to refine a diagnosis. The system is also used for hyper/hypothermia prevention in the context of sports or military applications. Of course, we are now working on the integration of new features. If we only consider temperature monitoring, the integration of the data to the cloud could be an important milestone.
Currently, thanks to the pill, we know exactly what the individual transit time is, but we have no idea of the time passed through each part of the GI tract (Stomach, small intestine, colon…). The geolocation of the pill into the intestine is of main interest to investigate intestinal disorders.
Many other parameters can be monitored throughout the GI tract. Among those parameters, the pH is one of the most important, and maybe one of the easier to monitor. To finish with, the pill could also include pressure sensors or HR sensors.
The next generation of pills could be designed for drug delivery.
If you want to learn more about BodyCap and hear live the insights of the e-Celsius pill don’t miss the chance to register and attend the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2017 Europe.
