Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) think they might have a solution to the seemingly intractable problem of monitoring prescription adherence: a “tattletale pill” that can alert physicians when it’s been swallowed. The system attaches a microchip and digestible antenna to a standard-size capsule. When the pill is swallowed, it communicates with a small electronic device carried by the patient. In turn, that device signals a cell phone or laptop, informing doctors or family members. The researchers say such a system could make clinical trials more efficient by alleviating the need to have researchers watch every participant take every pill. If trial subjects are noncompliant, “you can’t correlate the outcome of the study with the efficacy of the drug itself. So that requires additional time, excess patients, and tens of millions of dollars,” says Rizwan Bashirullah, PhD, UF assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who helped develop the device. “If you can use this technology and improve compliance by a little bit, even a few percentage points, it could have an impact which eventually gets translated to the consumer and insurers.” The device also could be used in clinical practice to provide an accurate read on whether prescriptions are being filled and used — for example, by elderly patients or individuals with mental health conditions.<\/p>\n
The researchers developed a way to print nontoxic, conductive silver lines on the outside of a capsule to serve as an antenna for the microchip embedded inside. Once swallowed, the microchip, via the antenna, sends its message that the pill has been taken. After breaking down, it leaves only a small byproduct of silver — less than what is present in tap water, according to Bashirullah. The pill has tested successfully on artificial models and cadavers, and UF has created a spinoff that hopes to take the device to market. Bashirullah expects the technology to be priced similar to that of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) tags, which can be purchased for as little as 25 cents. Bashirullah expects the system to go to market in about two years.<\/p>\n