A New Type of Pill

Intelligent pill doesn’t dissolve—it examines is the title of an article appearing at R&D. As the title indicates this is no ordinary pill. Rather than the contents dissolving and being absorbed by the body, this pill will pass through the digestive tract and during its passage release controlled amounts of drugs at predetermined locations. The pill has a pH sensor which enables a determination of where it is in the digestive tract. Different areas of the digestive tract have different levels of acidity. Acid levels are highest in the stomach but steadily decline as the pill navigates its way through the intestines.

The pill, developed by Philips Research and dubbed iPill, has a reservior capacity for storing drugs. It also has a fluid pump for dispensing the drugs and a microprocessor which directs the drug release process. Dosing can occur at multiple release points. In addition the iPill has a battery, temperature sensor and RF wireless transceiver. The temperature sensor gathers local temperature information and transmits it via its wireless transceiver to an external receiver unit.

Intelligent pills can also be used for diagnostic purposes. This can be accomplished with the inclusion of a miniature camara. When more precise imagery is required more conventional techniques like endoscopy, MRI and CT scans can supplement. The combination of site specific treatment and diagnostic capabilities offers new medical benefits that could help treat disorders like Crohn's disease, colitis and colon cancer.

Better MRIs

Extremely exact images from inside the body is the title of a press release of the Max Delbruck Center announcing the delivery of a magnetic resonance tomograph, utilizing a field of 7 tesla. The significance of the greater magnetic field is the resulting sharper images that could enable earlier detection of diseases.

An Advance in MRI Technology

The EurekAlert article titled Carnegie Mellon MRI technology that noninvasively locates, quantifies specific cells in the body describes an advance in MRI made possible by technology developed by Eric Ahrens of Carnegie Mellon University.

MRI, currently utilized, detects a magnetic resonance signal from water within body tissue or, more specifically, protons in the water. The idea behind the new technology is attaching a substance known as perfluoropolyether (PFPE) nanoemulsion to cells, so that signals from the nucleus of flourine atoms contained within PFPE, can be used to track cells.

The following is from the linked article:

"With our technology we can image specific cells in real-time with exquisite selectivity, which allows us to track their location and movement and to count the apparent number of cells present. We then use conventional MRI to obtain a high-resolution image that places the labeled cells in their anatomical context," said Ahrens, an associate professor of biological sciences at the Mellon College of Science.

The ability to track the movement and eventual location of specific immune cells is critical for understanding the cells' role in disease and therapeutic mechanisms, and for developing effective cell-based therapeutics. Other MRI methods for visualizing cells use metal-based contrast agents, which can make it difficult to clearly identify labeled cells in the body, according to Ahrens.