Scientists have developed ingestible capsules to monitor breathing and heart rate

CTOnews.com, Nov. 18 (Xinhua)-- A scientific team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a capsule that can be ingested to monitor vital signs in the gastrointestinal tract during sleep and to detect signs of respiratory inhibition during an opioid overdose.

The capsule is about the size of a conventional drug capsule and contains two batteries and a wireless antenna to transmit data.

After taking the capsule, the user will stay in the user's stomach to collect signals. In the unfolding test, participants spent the night in a sleep lab and confirmed that the sensor could record breathing, heart rate, temperature and stomach peristalsis.

The sensor was also able to detect sleep apnea in one of the patients during the trial. The results show that the available drugs can measure health indicators, which is comparable to the medical-grade diagnostic equipment in sleep centers.

Importantly, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says there are no reports of adverse reactions to capsule intake. Capsules are usually excreted in about a day, although a short internal shelf life may also limit its effectiveness as a monitoring device.

Dr. Ali Rezai, executive chairman of the Rockefeller Institute for Neuroscience at the University of West Virginia, said there is great potential to create a new approach through the device that will help providers determine when patients overdose based on their vital signs.

CTOnews.com attached the reference address of the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2023.100125