‘Fantastic Voyage,’ Revisited: The Pill That Navigates

[Adsos Letter]

Source: NY Times

THE doctor’s advice to “take two aspirin and call me in the morning” may one day be updated to “take this pill, and it will call me in the morning.”



Philips Research in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has developed a prototype for a pill that can be programmed to navigate toward a specific trouble spot in the body and deposit its medicine there, radioing dispatches to the doctor as it travels.

The technology, now being tested in animals but not yet in humans, may one day be used to treat digestive tract disorders like colitis and Crohn’s disease, said Dr. Peter van der Schaar, a gastroenterologist in Heerlen, also in the Netherlands. He worked with Philips in developing the device, which is officially named the Intelligent Pill and which Philips calls the iPill for short.

The iPill, a plastic capsule that is to be taken with food or water, is intended to travel through the digestive system naturally, typically within about 24 hours, dispensing its medicine at specific locations along the way, Dr. van der Schaar said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/business/01novel.html?ref=health