Easy to Swallow: The Smart Pill
A tiny ingestible sensor by Proteus Digital Health "is a game changer for medication compliance," David Lee Scher, MD, told Medscape. "The sensor, which costs less than a penny, is placed on a pill. It gets activated by stomach juices when it's ingested. A digital signal is then sent to a Band-Aid®–like monitor worn on the patient's arm." The sensor records when the medication is ingested, as well as the patient's heart rate, body temperature and position, and rest and activity patterns. "You view these data in the context of how effective a given pill is," Dr Scher says. "For example, if someone is taking a heart medicine that you want to decrease their heart rate, you can tell whether the rate is slow with activity because the medication is working or because the patient is inactive." The data are wirelessly transmitted to a smartphone app, which then sends it to a provider, caregiver, or family member. "Patients receive text message reminders if they don't take their pills," Dr Scher adds.