Chip in a Pill Tells Your Doctor When You Swallow Your Medicine -- and When You Don't
So much for going off your meds. University of Florida researchers have created an ingestible pill capsule fitted with a tiny microchip and antenna that alerts doctors or family members each time a pill is taken. Miss a dose and you're busted. For now the pill exists only in prototype form, but researchers and clinicians hope it paves the way toward a smart pill future, in which patients take their medications in a more timely manner. Studies have shown again and again that patients have a horrible track record when it comes to taking their pills; in some cases, studies have shown that sufferers of chronic illnesses normally take only half of their prescribed medications, and that patient noncompliance with prescriptions is responsible for over 200,000 deaths each year. The prototype pills are standard white, with an antenna that is printed onto the surface of the pills with silver nanoparticles. The capsule...