Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have created a completely new type of pill to upend that narrative. Luckily, this innovative pill includes technology that can verify its ingestion. Led by Giovanni Traverso, MD, PhD, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, this innovative device aims to enhance medication adherence among patients.
Researchers put the pill to the test using a preclinical study with pigs. In the past few years they published their discoveries in the reputable journal Nature Communications. The researchers programmed the pill so that it would emit a signal 10 minutes after the user swallowed it. This provides caregivers real-time feedback on whether the medication has been ingested. This advancement reflects an increasing interest in innovations that improve adherence to therapies prescribed by medical professionals. This is especially true for medications in which non-adherence can lead to negative health outcomes.
Traverso, also an associate member of MIT’s Broad Institute, weighed in on the research. What animated this crucial work? He laid out the motivation driving this important work.
“The goal is to make sure that this helps people receive the therapy they need to maximize their health.” – Giovanni Traverso, MD, PhD
The pill’s most remarkable innovation is its integrated antenna. Communicating wirelessly, this antenna captures radio frequency (RF) signals from an external receiver located up to two feet away. This allows the antenna to transmit information back using a micropatch RF chip sealed inside the pill. This chip can’t be dissolved like some existing methods and must be passed after it travels through the digestive tract. The other, non-efficacious components of the pill dissolve in your stomach and are absorbed by your body within a week.
Mehmet Girayhan Say, a PhD researcher at MIT and co-lead of the study. He further stressed the importance of focusing on the medicines that have the most important adherence-related outcomes.
“We want to prioritize medications that, when non-adherence is present, could have a really detrimental effect for the individual.” – Giovanni Traverso, MD, PhD
Researchers have created these systems that can remain in the body for long durations to increase adherence. They’re realistic in that some medications are too complicated, or impossible, to change. As such, this oral-formula pill is an important advance toward improving patient compliance with prescribed therapies. Medication adherence—taking meds exactly as prescribed—is crucial for realizing the promise of effective treatments.
