Taking Pills That Contain Nanotechnology
Carefully targeted and controlled delivery of substances into our bodies can be accomplished using nanotechnology containers. The containers can be routed to specific areas or tissues and can release materials at either a certain place or a certain time or span of time.
Drugs, vitamins, oxygen, sensors, and more materials can be delivered in this manner. Carbon nanotubes are showing great potential as the containers. It will become possible to design smart pills that use sensors to read conditions, relay the information outside the body and release substances according to the specifics of the circumstance.
Digestible batteries needed to power electronic pills – [phys.org]
Imagine a “smart pill” that can sense problems in your intestines and actively release the appropriate drugs. We have the biological understanding to create such a device, but we’re still searching for electronic materials (like batteries and circuits) that pose no risk if they get stuck in our bodies. In Trends in Biotechnology on September 21, Christopher Bettinger of Carnegie Mellon University presents a vision for creating safe, consumable electronics, such as those powered by the charged ions within our digestive tracts.
Sensors You Can Swallow Could Be Made of Vitamins and Powered by Stomach Acid – [spectrum.ieee.org]
The future of ingestible sensors could be a cross between silicon-based circuitry and biodegradable materials, with batteries made of nutrients and running on stomach juices.
That, at least, is the vision of Christopher Bettinger, assistant professor of materials science and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. His group is working on edible electronics and ways to power them. Ingestible sensors could provide a gut check for early signs on bacterial infection, look for symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s Disease, monitor uptake of medications, and even study the microbiome living inside people.
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