Guest guest Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Taken from: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59761,00.html Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly. Dubbed the Intelligent Pill or iPill, the new drug-delivery system packs a micropump and sensors that monitor the body's temperature and pH balance into one pill. If the body's temperature and pH reach certain levels, the iPill responds by pumping out more or less of its drug payload. It could be used to treat many ailments like AIDS or diabetes. " If you overdose yourself with pain relievers, you are killing your kidneys and liver, " said the iPill's inventor, Wael Badawy, an electrical engineer at the University of Calgary. " The iPill will help people have healthier kidneys and liver, as it will only deliver the dose that's needed. " The device also can be programmed to release drugs at various intervals. This could be particularly useful in treating diseases such as cancer or AIDS, where cocktails of many different medications may be required at constant intervals. " Instead of taking many pills at different times, with the iPill you could adjust its timer and swallow them all at once and get the right doses at the right times, " Badawy said. The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size, fills a space smaller than the area of 10 blood cells. It is encapsulated in a penny-size plastic casing that is resistant to stomach acids. Keeping the iPill small does, however, mean the device can only store one milliliter of drugs in its internal reservoir. But that should be enough for many drugs. " It comes down to what drug you're using -- this may be a big enough reservoir, " said Derek Hansford, professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Ohio State University. " They could increase the size of the pill, and the gadgetry wouldn't have to be increased. This would leave them more room. " Badawy's prototype iPill has an ARM VII microprocessor, produced by Advanced RISC Machines, and silicon-oxide sensors. The sensors feed information about the patient's body to the iPill's chip, which in turn controls the micropumps that squeeze out a drug dose. " When an electrical voltage is applied to the smart material of the pumps, the pumps expand and force the drug down a channel and out of the pill, " Badawy said. The system is powered by supercapacitors -- layers of metal that store up to four hours of power. Once the device does its work, it goes out the way of all solid human waste products, usually within one to three days. So far the iPill has only been put through its paces in the lab, where it has been immersed in vats of varying acidities to see if it would release the appropriate amounts of drugs. Badawy says the tests have so far been 100 percent reliable, but the iPill has some kinks that need to be ironed out before it would be fit for human consumption. One remaining issue is the power source. " We are looking at ways to prolong the working time, and this is one of our biggest problems. We are looking for an alternative power source so it will last for 12 hours or one day, " Badawy said. Despite the challenges, some have hailed the iPill as a breakthrough. " It would allow for temperature and pH readings in more than one place in the body and, most importantly, this is done in a completely noninvasive way, " said Michael Simpson, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. " If I had a drug that could measure glucose levels and deliver the drug based on this, it would be great " for patients who have diabetes, said endocrinologist Dan Berger at the Sansom Santa Barbara Clinic. Badawy said he expects the iPill will be available for animal testing within two years, and a product approved for human use in four to five. It should sell for about 10 cents a pill, he said. --- A very intersting article, don't you think? The fact that it can measure temperature, hot or cold, i.e. Yin and Yang may have a benefit for TCM in the future. Any comments? Attilio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 A good late April Fool's joke. Or not. Taken from: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59761,00.html Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly. Dubbed the Intelligent Pill or iPill, the new drug-delivery system packs a micropump and sensors that monitor the body's temperature and pH balance into one pill. If the body's temperature and pH reach certain levels, the iPill responds by pumping out more or less of its drug payload. It could be used to treat many ailments like AIDS or diabetes. " If you overdose yourself with pain relievers, you are killing your kidneys and liver, " said the iPill's inventor, Wael Badawy, an electrical engineer at the University of Calgary. " The iPill will help people have healthier kidneys and liver, as it will only deliver the dose that's needed. " The device also can be programmed to release drugs at various intervals. This could be particularly useful in treating diseases such as cancer or AIDS, where cocktails of many different medications may be required at constant intervals. " Instead of taking many pills at different times, with the iPill you could adjust its timer and swallow them all at once and get the right doses at the right times, " Badawy said. The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size, fills a space smaller than the area of 10 blood cells. It is encapsulated in a penny-size plastic casing that is resistant to stomach acids. Keeping the iPill small does, however, mean the device can only store one milliliter of drugs in its internal reservoir. But that should be enough for many drugs. " It comes down to what drug you're using -- this may be a big enough reservoir, " said Derek Hansford, professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Ohio State University. " They could increase the size of the pill, and the gadgetry wouldn't have to be increased. This would leave them more room. " Badawy's prototype iPill has an ARM VII microprocessor, produced by Advanced RISC Machines, and silicon-oxide sensors. The sensors feed information about the patient's body to the iPill's chip, which in turn controls the micropumps that squeeze out a drug dose. " When an electrical voltage is applied to the smart material of the pumps, the pumps expand and force the drug down a channel and out of the pill, " Badawy said. The system is powered by supercapacitors -- layers of metal that store up to four hours of power. Once the device does its work, it goes out the way of all solid human waste products, usually within one to three days. So far the iPill has only been put through its paces in the lab, where it has been immersed in vats of varying acidities to see if it would release the appropriate amounts of drugs. Badawy says the tests have so far been 100 percent reliable, but the iPill has some kinks that need to be ironed out before it would be fit for human consumption. One remaining issue is the power source. " We are looking at ways to prolong the working time, and this is one of our biggest problems. We are looking for an alternative power source so it will last for 12 hours or one day, " Badawy said. Despite the challenges, some have hailed the iPill as a breakthrough. " It would allow for temperature and pH readings in more than one place in the body and, most importantly, this is done in a completely noninvasive way, " said Michael Simpson, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. " If I had a drug that could measure glucose levels and deliver the drug based on this, it would be great " for patients who have diabetes, said endocrinologist Dan Berger at the Sansom Santa Barbara Clinic. Badawy said he expects the iPill will be available for animal testing within two years, and a product approved for human use in four to five. It should sell for about 10 cents a pill, he said. --- A very intersting article, don't you think? The fact that it can measure temperature, hot or cold, i.e. Yin and Yang may have a benefit for TCM in the future. Any comments? Attilio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 iPill? More like iBull ! I am very sceptical about this and I'll tell you why. Most WM doctors may be educated clever folk, but they couldn't diagnose a broken arm if it was their own. They lack the practical touch. How they are going to translate their academic knowledge into an engineering reality - to a small chip you can swallow & which will then regulate various body functions and drug inputs ? No thanks ! I'll stick with a human being doing the diagnostics & writing the scripts. Beam me up Scotty .. [attiliodalberto]18 August 2003 19:54Chinese Medicine Subject: Diagnosis and Medicine in a PillTaken from: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59761,00.html Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly. Dubbed the Intelligent Pill or iPill, the new drug-delivery system packs a micropump and sensors that monitor the body's temperature and pH balance into one pill. If the body's temperature and pH reach certain levels, the iPill responds by pumping out more or less of its drug payload. It could be used to treat many ailments like AIDS or diabetes. "If you overdose yourself with pain relievers, you are killing your kidneys and liver," said the iPill's inventor, Wael Badawy, an electrical engineer at the University of Calgary. "The iPill will help people have healthier kidneys and liver, as it will only deliver the dose that's needed." The device also can be programmed to release drugs at various intervals. This could be particularly useful in treating diseases such as cancer or AIDS, where cocktails of many different medications may be required at constant intervals. "Instead of taking many pills at different times, with the iPill you could adjust its timer and swallow them all at once and get the right doses at the right times," Badawy said. The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size, fills a space smaller than the area of 10 blood cells. It is encapsulated in a penny-size plastic casing that is resistant to stomach acids. Keeping the iPill small does, however, mean the device can only store one milliliter of drugs in its internal reservoir. But that should be enough for many drugs. "It comes down to what drug you're using -- this may be a big enough reservoir," said Derek Hansford, professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Ohio State University. "They could increase the size of the pill, and the gadgetry wouldn't have to be increased. This would leave them more room." Badawy's prototype iPill has an ARM VII microprocessor, produced by Advanced RISC Machines, and silicon-oxide sensors. The sensors feed information about the patient's body to the iPill's chip, which in turn controls the micropumps that squeeze out a drug dose. "When an electrical voltage is applied to the smart material of the pumps, the pumps expand and force the drug down a channel and out of the pill," Badawy said. The system is powered by supercapacitors -- layers of metal that store up to four hours of power. Once the device does its work, it goes out the way of all solid human waste products, usually within one to three days. So far the iPill has only been put through its paces in the lab, where it has been immersed in vats of varying acidities to see if it would release the appropriate amounts of drugs. Badawy says the tests have so far been 100 percent reliable, but the iPill has some kinks that need to be ironed out before it would be fit for human consumption. One remaining issue is the power source. "We are looking at ways to prolong the working time, and this is one of our biggest problems. We are looking for an alternative power source so it will last for 12 hours or one day," Badawy said. Despite the challenges, some have hailed the iPill as a breakthrough. "It would allow for temperature and pH readings in more than one place in the body and, most importantly, this is done in a completely noninvasive way," said Michael Simpson, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "If I had a drug that could measure glucose levels and deliver the drug based on this, it would be great" for patients who have diabetes, said endocrinologist Dan Berger at the Sansom Santa Barbara Clinic. Badawy said he expects the iPill will be available for animal testing within two years, and a product approved for human use in four to five. It should sell for about 10 cents a pill, he said. ---A very intersting article, don't you think? The fact that it can measure temperature, hot or cold, i.e. Yin and Yang may have a benefit for TCM in the future. Any comments?AttilioFor practitioners, students and those interested in TCM. Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, religious, spam messages or flame another member. If you want to change the way you receive email message, i.e. individually, daily digest or none, then visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ Click ‘edit my membership' on the right hand side and adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 And who is going to clean that s... out of thechip when comes out??? I guess through the large intestine ) Vanessa ga.bates wrote: iPill? More like iBull ! I am very sceptical about this and I'll tell you why. Most WM doctors may be educated clever folk, but they couldn't diagnose a broken arm if it was their own. They lack the practical touch. How they are going to translate their academic knowledge into an engineering reality - to a small chip you can swallow & which will then regulate various body functions and drug inputs ? No thanks ! I'll stick with a human being doing the diagnostics & writing the scripts. Beam me up Scotty .. [attiliodalberto]18 August 2003 19:54Chinese Medicine Subject: Diagnosis and Medicine in a PillTaken from: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59761,00.html Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly. Dubbed the Intelligent Pill or iPill, the new drug-delivery system packs a micropump and sensors that monitor the body's temperature and pH balance into one pill. If the body's temperature and pH reach certain levels, the iPill responds by pumping out more or less of its drug payload. It could be used to treat many ailments like AIDS or diabetes. "If you overdose yourself with pain relievers, you are killing your kidneys and liver," said the iPill's inventor, Wael Badawy, an electrical engineer at the University of Calgary. "The iPill will help people have healthier kidneys and liver, as it will only deliver the dose that's needed." The device also can be programmed to release drugs at various intervals. This could be particularly useful in treating diseases such as cancer or AIDS, where cocktails of many different medications may be required at constant intervals. "Instead of taking many pills at different times, with the iPill you could adjust its timer and swallow them all at once and get the right doses at the right times," Badawy said. The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size, fills a space smaller than the area of 10 blood cells. It is encapsulated in a penny-size plastic casing that is resistant to stomach acids. Keeping the iPill small does, however, mean the device can only store one milliliter of drugs in its internal reservoir. But that should be enough for many drugs. "It comes down to what drug you're using -- this may be a big enough reservoir," said Derek Hansford, professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Ohio State University. "They could increase the size of the pill, and the gadgetry wouldn't have to be increased. This would leave them more room." Badawy's prototype iPill has an ARM VII microprocessor, produced by Advanced RISC Machines, and silicon-oxide sensors. The sensors feed information about the patient's body to the iPill's chip, which in turn controls the micropumps that squeeze out a drug dose. "When an electrical voltage is applied to the smart material of the pumps, the pumps expand and force the drug down a channel and out of the pill," Badawy said. The system is powered by supercapacitors -- layers of metal that store up to four hours of power. Once the device does its work, it goes out the way of all solid human waste products, usually within one to three days. So far the iPill has only been put through its paces in the lab, where it has been immersed in vats of varying acidities to see if it would release the appropriate amounts of drugs. Badawy says the tests have so far been 100 percent reliable, but the iPill has some kinks that need to be ironed out before it would be fit for human consumption. One remaining issue is the power source. "We are looking at ways to prolong the working time, and this is one of our biggest problems. We are looking for an alternative power source so it will last for 12 hours or one day," Badawy said. Despite the challenges, some have hailed the iPill as a breakthrough. "It would allow for temperature and pH readings in more than one place in the body and, most importantly, this is done in a completely noninvasive way," said Michael Simpson, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "If I had a drug that could measure glucose levels and deliver the drug based on this, it would be great" for patients who have diabetes, said endocrinologist Dan Berger at the Sansom Santa Barbara Clinic. Badawy said he expects the iPill will be available for animal testing within two years, and a product approved for human use in four to five. It should sell for about 10 cents a pill, he said. ---A very intersting article, don't you think? The fact that it can measure temperature, hot or cold, i.e. Yin and Yang may have a benefit for TCM in the future. Any comments?AttilioFor practitioners, students and those interested in TCM. Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, religious, spam messages or flame another member. If you want to change the way you receive email message, i.e. individually, daily digest or none, then visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ Click ‘edit my membership' on the right hand side and adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.