Smart tablets and the future of medicine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new medication for the treatment of some mental disorders in the form of a pill with a sensor that is activated by stomach acids and sends a signal to a patch placed on the patient’s skin which then communicates with an app. The development of the sensor was approved in 2012, and this is its first use in treatment.

What is significant about a pill that lets somebody know it has been taken? In the first place, it affects so-called treatment adherence, a fundamental variable in medicine that establishes if a patient is following the prescribed treatment. Getting people to follow a course of treatment is not necessarily simple: they can forget or refuse to take medication or become confused, particularly in the case of the elderly or people with mental illnesses.

Adherence to treatment can be improved through reminders, messages or applications. The Apple Watch has been linked to improving adherence to treatments or the control of vital signs such as heart or breathing rate, which can help detect disorders such as sleep apnea or hypertension. We are now beginning explore the possibility of sensors inside our body.

The potential uses of ingested sensors are many: last year, British Airways registered a patent for a tablet with several sensors for passengers that can tell when they are hungry, cold or even which sleep stage they are in. Such information could be used to decide when to serve meals or to adjust the light and temperature of the cabin, provide a blanket, etc.

Ingested sensors can also be fitted with a micro camera that uses fluorescent light to detect and diagnose tumors in the gastrointestinal tract.

Sensorization is one of many interesting avenues of medical research. Over the last few years I have gone from measuring my vital signs only when I was feeling unwell or prior to visiting the doctor to placing sensors on my wrist that routinely register a range of variables. Placing these sensors in other places, including inside us, is a logical next step.

Medicine is constantly being redefined in line with technology, taking us into a different environment that will require us to drastically redefine many fundamental concepts. Meanwhile, keeping taking the tablets.

(En español, aquí)