Digital pills make their way to market

[Mosby]

Digestible microchips embedded in drugs may soon tell doctors whether a patient is taking their medications as prescribed. These sensors are the first ingestible devices approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To some, they signify the beginning of an era in digital medicine.

“About half of all people don’t take medications like they’re supposed to,” says Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla,California. “This device could be a solution to that problem, so that doctors can know when to rev up a patient’s medication adherence.” Topol is not affiliated with the company that manufactures the device, Proteus Digital Health in Redwood City,California, but he embraces the sensor’s futuristic appeal, saying, “It’s like big brother watching you take your medicine.”

The sand-particle sized sensor consists of a minute silicon chip containing trace amounts of magnesium and copper. When swallowed, it generates a slight voltage in response to digestive juices, which conveys a signal to the surface of a person’s skin where a patch then relays the information to a mobile phone belonging to a healthcare-provider.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/07/digital-pills-make-their-way-to-market.html

[Duer 157099]

1. Yeah, I can't think of any obvious nefarious applications for this technology

[MotherPetrie]

2. No shit!

[Mojorabbit]

3. Totally creepy. nt

[NYC_SKP]

4. December 21st, 2012 can't come soon enough!

We're not progressing, we're metastasizing.

[Warpy]

5. This is great for things like tuberculosis medication

when patient compliance is extremely important. It might also be used in drugs like low dose Narcan and Antabuse for addicts who go the route of taking those as part of a plea bargain for probation.

I can't think of it applying to much else. It needs to be reserved for those occasions when public health is at risk, IMO.

[Mosby]

7. This might be beneficial for older folks who forget to take their meds

and also schizophrenics and bi-polars.

[Warpy]

9. There's no legal mechanism to force the mentally ill

to take their medication and early intervention when they go on drug holiday isn't possible either. I wish it were. I have cousins who could be helped before they hit the streets, too frightened to talk to anyone or accept anyone's help.

If we get a rational USSC and revisit the too-narrow definition of "danger to oneself," these might be classes of drugs to consider tagging. If not, stick to what we have a legal avenue to control.

[Lint Head]

6. Can you say "Total control"? I knew you could.

[Kaleva]

8. I forget to take my blood thinner meds alot.

[Warpy]

10. EEEK, not good

I bought my parents those 7 day pill things at Walgreen's and had them set up a Sunday evening ritual to put the pills in the compartments so they'd remember which they'd taken. Those cheap little hunks o plastic worked well for many years.

I'm getting to the point that I need to consider getting one for myself. Forgetting my morning pills don't carry the same consequence that skipping a blood thinner does, but the vicious headache in the afternoon always tells me when I goofed.

[Kaleva]

15. I'll get one Monday.

[Warpy]

16. Great! Then all you have to do is remember to check it

before you go to bed every night.

However, yeah, it's a cheap tool that can help a lot.

[MiddleFingerMom]

13. Missing ANY of my other meds on an occasional basis doesn't bother me greatly...

.
.
.
...although there are a couple that let me KNOW that I missed a dose.
.
.
.
But I'm a real fucker to myself if I miss a blood thinner dose (though I occasionally
do). For several reasons, I don't always set up my 7-day pill organizer and there
are mornings when I can't remember whether I took the blood thinner the night
before or not -- and, if I DID remember to take it and than try to mistakenly
"catch up", my level EXCEEDS my healthy range.
.
Too little OR too much can be VERY bad for you. Too little and you risk blood
clots -- worse case scenario they make it up to your cranial vessels and you
might have a major stroke... resulting in possible permanent damage that would
leave you incapacitated for the rest of your low quality-of-life life.
.
Too much and it attacks your vulnerable mushy abdominal organs, causing
MAJOR internal seepage bleeding -- bleeding so generalized that they may not
be able to stop it.
.
Either situation motivates me to do my absolute BEST to stay on top of that
med -- though I sometime slip up,
.
.
.
I have some more surgery coming up and they're going to have me stop taking
that blood thinner several days before. I'm going to be pretty nervous until
my levels are back up again post-surgery.
,
,
,

[Kaleva]

14. I just need to get a pill organizer.

They are cheap and the drug store where I can get one is just a short scooter ride away from where I live. I've been pretty lucky so far but sooner or later, the luck will run out if I keep forgetting to take the blood thinners.

Despite the problems with the blood clots, the doctors have told me I'm a very healthy guy for my age. It's the legs that are crap. I can't sit in a vehicle for more then an hour, be on my knees much or even sit down for periods of time. Even when I'm here on the computer, I have to get up about every 15 minutes or so and walk around to get the feeling back in my legs.

[silverweb]

11. Appropriate for some patients in some circumstances.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]For those living independently with mild dementia and general forgetfulness. For those on TB treatment (instead of sending a public health nurse around daily to administer). For court-ordered meds necessary to allow independent living. Quite acceptable and helpful in these and similar cases.

I strongly doubt this would become widely used on "regular" patients who might forget a pill once a month or so. First, it would increase costs unacceptably and second, there would be patient mutiny (count me in there).

[longship]

12. Clinical trials!

Compliance is important, even if you are in a placebo arm. This technology may be important to determine compliance in medical research, where compliance is very important.

Just to bring another view to the discussion.

Science Based Medicine