MIT researchers have developed a new smart pill that could be used to help doctors track treatment more accurately, and ensure patients stay on their medication schedule, reports Kurt Knutsson for Fox News. “If you or a loved one relies on critical medication, this kind of technology could add an extra layer of safety,” Knuttson explains. “It may reduce guesswork for doctors and ease pressure on patients who manage complex treatment plans.”
In an effort to help medical professionals ensure patients are taking medications as prescribed, researchers at MIT have developed a “drug capsule containing an RFID tag that uses radiofrequency (RF) signals to communicate that it has been swallowed, and then bioresorbs into the body,” reports Tami Freeman for Physics World. “Medication non-adherence remains a major cause of preventable morbidity and cost, but existing ingestible tracking systems rely on non-degradable electronics,” explains Prof. Giovanni Traverso. Our motivation was to create a passive, battery-free adherence sensor that confirms ingestion while fully biodegrading, avoiding long-term safety and environmental concerns associated with persistent electronic devices.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with Claudia Hammond of BBC Health Check about a new pill he and his colleagues have developed that can send an alert when it’s been swallowed, which could help ensure patients are taking their medications as prescribed. “Researchers have estimated that in the US alone, people not taking their medication contributes to as many as 125,000 preventable deaths each year and costs more than $100 billion,” says Hammond.
Researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible “smart pill” that uses radio frequency to communicate from the stomach when patients have taken their medications. “It may sound simple, but the stakes are high,” reports McKenzie Beard for the New York Post. “Studies show that half of all Americans with chronic conditions don’t take their long-term medications as prescribed.”
Researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible pill that “contains a biodegradable radiofrequency antenna” which can be used to monitor patients’ medication intake, reports Nancy Lapid for Reuters. “After [the antenna] sends out the signal that the pill has been consumed, most components break down in the stomach while a tiny radiofrequency chip passes out of the body through the digestive tract,” explains Lapid.
Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues have developed a pill that can report when it has been swallowed, which could be used to ensure patients are taking their medicine correctly. “According to the World Health Organization, nearly 50% of patients in need of long-term treatment do not take their medication as prescribed,” reports Inside Precision Medicine. “This new reporting system could be beneficial for a wide range of patient populations.”
Researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible pill that can communicate from the stomach and could help monitor patients' medication use, reports Prabhat Ranjan Mishra for Interesting Engineering. “After it sends out the signal that the pill has been consumed, most components break down in the stomach while a tiny RF chip passes out of the body through the digestive tract," writes Mishra.
Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his lab are developing “a transdermal patch that could provide women with long-term contraception,” reports The Boston Globe Editorial Board. “The lab is also developing probiotic medications to treat abnormalities in the vaginal microbiome, a condition associated with risks including painful infection and premature birth.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with WCVB about his research developing an ingestible robotic capsule capable of delivering an injection directly within the stomach. “Fifty percent of the population don’t take medication as prescribed. That’s incredible,” says Traverso. “So, if we can make a little dent, or hopefully a bigger dent, I think we can help a lot of folks out there.”
Researchers at MIT have designed an implantable device that can be used to administer a dose of glucagon to protect Type 1 diabetics from hypoglycemia, reports Amir Khollam. “The device, about the size of a quarter, sits under the skin and releases a dose of glucagon when blood sugar levels dip too low,” explains Khollam. “It can be activated manually or triggered wirelessly by a sensor.”
In a new paper, Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues highlight the results of a clinical trial that showed “a pill taken just once a week, gradually releasing medicine from within the stomach, can greatly simplify the drug schedule faced by schizophrenia patients,” writes Dennis Thompson for HealthDay News. “These final-stage clinical trial results are the product of more than 10 years of research by Traverso’s lab.”
MIT researchers have developed “self-injectable contraceptive shots that work similarly to contraceptive implants,” reports Margherita Bassi for Gizmodo. “The shots would result in a highly effective and long-term contraceptive method more accessible to women who lack easy access to medical infrastructure,” explains Bassi. “Additionally, the design could be used to administer other long-term medications, such as those for HIV.”
MIT researchers have developed a “simple way to administer long-acting drug delivery systems without the need for invasive procedures – an appealing prospect for parts of the world with poor medical infrastructure,” reports Nicola Davis for The Guardian. “It’s suitable for any poorly soluble hydrophobic drug, especially where long-acting delivery is needed,” says Prof. Giovanni Traverso, “This includes treatments for HIV, TB, schizophrenia, chronic pain, or metabolic disease.”
Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner spotlights Lybra Bio, an MIT startup that is developing a “patch to treat skin conditions like psoriasis and alopecia areata, which causes hair loss.” Kirsner notes that Lybra “envisions a patch that could deliver drugs to precisely where they’re needed on the skin — like the scalp, in the case of alopecia.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with the Nature Podcast hosts Benjamin Thompson and Emily Bates about his work developing an ingestible capsule capable of delivering drugs directly into lining of the GI tract. “Part of the work that we did was really defining how much force needs to be applied so that that jet can go through the tissue,” says Traverso. “But not only go through the initial part of the tissue, what we wanted to understand for each part of the GI tract was exactly how much pressure is required to essentially deposit some amount of drug under the surface of the tissue.”