Pill not pipe

The MIT Technology Review bring me news (at reference 1) of a new gadget which might, in the future, reduce the need for colonoscopies. Instead, you just swallow a rather large pill and it sends out signals about the state of your gut on its way through. On a quick read, only tested on pigs so far.

The story seems to be that you leverage the ability of bacteria to detect chemicals that should not be in one's gut. One then arranges things for those bacteria to emit light when those chemicals are present. With a light detector close at hand which can send radio signals to the outside world.

All this packaged into something like the device snapped above - a modest 1.5 centimetres across. So quite a big pill, inserted into the pig surgically, but, we are told, quite safely swallowed by a human.

Maybe when they get it down to 0.5 centimetres across I will be tempted.

PS: I should add that it seems that large pills containing electrical wizardry to detect goings on in the gut are already being used in humans. But not in this particular way.

Additional information

Abstract of reference 2: transient molecules in the gastrointestinal tract such as nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide are key signals and mediators of inflammation. Owing to their highly reactive nature and extremely short lifetime in the body, these molecules are difficult to detect. Here we develop a miniaturized device that integrates genetically engineered probiotic biosensors with a custom-designed photodetector and readout chip to track these molecules in the gastrointestinal tract. Leveraging the molecular specificity of living sensors, we genetically encoded bacteria to respond to inflammation-associated molecules by producing luminescence. Low-power electronic readout circuits integrated into the device convert the light emitted by the encapsulated bacteria to a wireless signal. We demonstrate in-vivo biosensor monitoring in the gastrointestinal tract of small and large animal models and the integration of all components into a sub-1.4 cm3 form factor that is compatible with ingestion and capable of supporting wireless communication. With this device, diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease could be diagnosed earlier than is currently possible, and disease progression could be more accurately tracked. The wireless detection of short-lived, disease- associated molecules with our device could also support timely communication between patients and caregivers, as well as remote personalized care.

References

Reference 1: This microbe-filled pill could track inflammation in the gut: The bacteria light up in the presence of common by-products of inflammatory bowel disease - Soumya Sagar, MIT Technology Review - 2023.

Reference 2: Sub-1.4 cm3 capsule for detecting labile inflammatory biomarkers in-situ - M. E. Inda-Webb, M. Jimenez and others - 2023.