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The U.S. has begun using digital micro-pills
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of a so-called digital micropill in medical practice in the country - a tiny sensor that, after entering the human gastrointestinal tract, can transmit information about the person's health to various digital devices, Medical News Today reports.
Ingestion Event Marker (IEM) was approved for use in the European Union in August 2010 and is the first such development to receive FDA approval.
The sand-sized IEM does not contain a battery and is a silicon chip with conductive materials attached to both sides, encased in a soluble shell. When swallowed, the sensor is briefly activated by stomach acid and begins transmitting a signal to a larger microchip attached to the skin with a patch.
This microchip, in turn, records the time of receipt of the signal from the IEM and retransmits it either to the computer or mobile phone of the attending physician or guardian of the patient, or to an electronic device belonging to the patient himself. After the IEM, having passed through the gastrointestinal tract, performs its function, it is excreted from the body in the usual way.
According to the developer of the device, California-based Proteus Digital Health, the IEM can be used to remotely monitor patients for timely and correct intake of prescribed medications, which is especially important during clinical trials of various drugs. It is assumed that the patient should swallow such a sensor at the same time as the drug, after which the doctor or the patient's guardian receives information about the time of intake and the amount of the drug taken. The makers of the IEM hope that in the future, pharmaceutical companies will include it in the composition of drugs directly during the manufacturing process.
In addition to information about medication intake, Proteus Digital Health notes that IEM can also be used to remotely obtain information about the functioning of various systems in the patient’s body, which allows the doctor to have a constant and complete picture of what is happening.
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