by Risper Buyeke
The human body system is very sensitive. Sometimes doctors can’t easily detect diseases. This becomes difficult to diagnose diseases and subsequently treat them. The electronic pill is changing this situation for the better.
The use of electronic pills helps to easily detect the diseases. Thus, a quick action can be taken against the disease.
The development of the electronic pill has been done by Dr. Eric Johannessen and Professor John Cooper from Glasgow University. This is a medical monitoring system. The parameters that can be recorded are: Ph measurements, temperature analysis, conductivity and dissolved oxygen.
The pills can capture images and send them to a computer system. It works by swallowing. To make it suitable for this work, it is covered by polyether-terketone coating which is chemical resistant.
It starts to detect diseases and abnormalities when it moves through the gastro-intestinal tract. The pill can easily reach areas in the small and large intestine. It delivers data to an external system for further analysis. The information is displayed on a monitor.
As the pill moves into the digestive system, it collects data and sends it into a computer. These electronic pills are made up of sensors, ASIC chip, power source and a radio transmitter.
It has four microelectronic sensors. They include Silicon Diode, ISFET, Direct Contact Gold Electrode and three-Electrode Electrochemical Cell. The silicon Diode is used to identify the body temperature. It is attached to the substrate. The sensor has a silicon integrated circuit which makes it very affordable.
The ISFET is used to measure the concentration of ions in solution. Many diseases occur due to abnormal PH levels. They include inflammatory bowel disease, reflux of the oesophagus, activity of the fermenting bacteria, pancreatic disease and hypertension.
Direct Contact Gold Electrode measures the conductivity. Gold is used because it has the best conductivity as compared to other elements. It also gives accurate results. Measurement of conductivity is done by assessing the contents of salt and water absorption.
Three-Electrode Chemical Cell calculates the rate of dissolved oxygen. It also identifies the activity of aerobic bacteria in small and large intestines.
All the above sensors are controlled by application-specific integrated circuit. All the other components are connected to the ASIC.
After diagnosis, the pill comes out through bowel movement. The pill is also known as magical pill in the healthcare sector. One of the shortcomings of this pill is that it can’t detect radiation abnormalities and it has not been made available in many countries.
