The iPill - The World's First Ingestible Electronic Drug Medication Delivery System

Imagine a pill that you take that is capable of transporting itself through your body to the location of a specific ailment, dispense the needed medication and report to the doctor what it is experiencing. Sounds far fetched doesn't it? Sounds like a scene from a futuristic science fiction movie. But it is not. It may become science fact sooner than you think. Philips Electronics Research and Development unit is working on the final development stages of The Philips iPill, an ingestible electronic drug medication delivery system.

Measuring 11 millimeters by 26 millimeters in size, this capsule shaped device is filled with tiny sensors and is designed to be swallowed. Also on board is a micro processor, a fluid pump and a wireless transmitter, oh yes and the medication it will be dispensing. Designed to enable doctors to deliver the needed medication directly to a specific area within the gastro intestinal tract, The Philips iPill is being promoted as a new method capable of treating chronic ailments that were previously untreatable, such as Crohn's Disease.

According to Philips Electronics senior R and D scientist, Jeff Shimizu, The Philips iPill will navigate its way through the patient's digestive tract by sensing and reading the pH levels contained within the system. The iPill's onboard sensors make this possible. As the iPill travel from the stomach, through the small intestine into the large intestine the pH level increases at each stage and when the sensors detect a specific pH level that will be its indicator that it has arrived at its intended destination.

Once it is in place at its predetermined location, the iPill will begin dispensing medication which it can do as programmed, either all at once, in a series of small bursts, or gradually over a period of time. While in route to its destination, The Philips iPill wireless transmitter communicated information about the conditions the onboard sensors encountered to an outside receiving unit which provides instant information to the tending physician regarding the internal condition of the patient. This information enables the doctor to make needed adjustments to the medication dispensing module to better treat the ailment. If an adverse reaction occurred the system could be issued a command to immediately halt the delivery of the medication.

The Philips iPill is nearing the conclusion of its prototype trails and is waiting approval of licensing for clinical trials. Technology once believed and only described as science fiction is becoming science fact everyday. Look for the Philips iPill, the first ingestible electronic drug medication delivery system to be introduced into a gastro intestinal tract near you, real soon.

Resource: Philips iPill, Fast Company Magazine - March, 2009