Electronic smart capsule delivers drugs straight to colon

US researchers at the Purdue University, have reportedly developed an electronic smart capsule that could deliver medication directly to the colon

This would be ideal for conditions such as Crohn’s disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome which need medication to reach the large colon in order to work. As well as being more effective, it this development could also prove to be cheaper.

The device is made up of two sections – one carries the electronics and another carries the drug – which is released once the capsule has made its journey through stomach acid and 20 feet of small intestine. The device also contains a magnetic switch so that when it gets close to magnetic marker that – can be worn at waist-level or implanted under the skin – triggers drug release as the capsule gets close to the right position of the large intestine. The magnetic switch has been designed so that it isn’t triggered by external signals such as those on mobile phones.

This news follows the recent announcement that the FDA has given New Drug Application status to Abilify, a combination product to treat mental illness which contains a Proteus ingestible sensor in a single tablet.

The sensor is expected to help with patient adherence because the Abilify tablet contains an ingestible sensor that communicates with a wearable sensor patch and a medical software application for measuring adherence.