Being a doctor and prescribing pills to patients isn't always the most effective thing in the world, as there's more than a few people that don't take them very happily. It's hard to tell if they've taken them or not, but a recent invention aims to put an end to this.
The Daily Mail is reporting that 'digestible sensors', which are 1mm in diameter, could allow doctors to keep track of patients outside of hospital and surgery. This is expected to be very valuable to elderly, or psychiatric patients who rely on medication but have forgetful tendencies, or are at risk of taking their medication at the wrong time.
It works by activating a supposedly harmless electrical charge when a drug is detected, which is picked up by a sensing patch that the patient wears and records the time and date. It can also measure the heart rate, breathing patterns and even motion. That info is sent to the mobile phone of the patient, and then off to the respective hospital/doctor. The microchips are essentially invisible to the patient, and can be added to any standard drugs.
It's good to see technology advances in areas that aren't what Neowin is typically is accustomed to, and this will certainly be a great step forward for the medical field.
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