December 12 news, FastMed authoritative foreign media said digital pills raised some privacy concerns, but supporters believe that this can track the patient's medication may be just the beginning of the new edible technology. The following Is the main content of the article:
The recent approval of a "digital pill" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could be the start of a new wave of edible technologies.
The drug is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical's Abilify drug (used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression), which contains a safe-to-use electronic sensor that swallows into the stomach and then The sensor transmits the electronic signal through the body to the bandaged wearable patch, which then sends the wireless message to the patient's mobile application, recording the amount of medication already ingested.
"What we do is combine software analysis that takes advantage of the sensors and the back-end of the patient's body." George Savage, co-founder and chief medical officer of Proteus Digital Health, Redwood City, Calif., Which supplies sensor technology to Otsuka, Savage) said.
Their goal is to enable patients to keep track of the doses they take, and to enable them to share those records with their physicians if they so wish - and share it with loved ones and caregivers. According to a widely quoted estimate , Even in developed countries, in fact, only 50% of the patients are treated as directed by their physician, so it is difficult for physicians to identify whether they need other medications or not enough on demand Of the dose.
"For the first time, physicians will be able to objectively understand if their patients are taking their medicines as directed, which could really greatly improve the effectiveness of the treatment for patients," said Robert McQuade, Chief Strategy Officer at Otsuka.
The future of digestible technology
In the future, as more sensor-loaded tablets are approved, beneficiaries may include patients taking chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and if they do not take it on time, they will find the treatment less than ideal. Early tests were also conducted with researchers on the treatment of infectious diseases, including testing the tablet technology to help prevent HIV in high-risk patients and testing expensive drugs to treat hepatitis C.
Patients may even routinely swallow tablets with different types of sensors to automatically track the temperature and acidity of the body and bring them or their doctors real-time data, thus eliminating the need for more invasive treatment or having to go home See a doctor.
Proteus Placebo tablets with edible sensors
'This tablet keeps track of specific trajectories in the body and can monitor everything from the reaction to the food you eat to your diet and even helps to lose weight.' 'Assimi, Assistant Professor of ElectroScience Lab Labs, Ohio State University Asimina Kiourti said.
Currently, the first smart tablet, Abilify MyCite, is not yet available Otsuka plans to launch a small-scale rollout for a limited number of physicians and insurers early next year to track patients' reactions to sensors and applications.
'The goal is to learn as much as you can about usage in the real world and not in the clinical setting,' said Andrew Wright, vice president of digital medicine at Otsuka.
The drug, however, has caused some controversy, with critics cautioning that if such technologies are prevalent, patients may be under pressure from doctors, insurance companies or others who will have to take what they might not want The medication to take.
In a commentary for psychiatrist and author of Listening to Prozac, Peter D. Kramer, in Fortune, the drug was "horrific , 'Future relatives, judges and even employers are likely to be able to see if patients have the right amount of medication on time.
Panic is exaggerated
Proteus CEO Andrew Thompson believes the panic is overblown, stressing that the company will not work with organizations like prisons and psychiatric hospitals because they may force people, without their consent, Wear patches for tracking their medication.
'We have rejected the opportunity to work with that agency because we do not think that should be the end of these solutions.' 'He said,' I think the speculations about 'let's imagine all the bad things that could happen' were over Rendered. '
By following other types of medications, Proteus has done a good job in this technology by tracking kidney transplant patients taking anti-rejection drugs, those with tuberculosis that are often difficult to adhere to, and those at risk (making people more likely to not be able to take it Hepatitis C, an expensive drug that can treat deadly infections, and a study of eight hypertensive patients found that each patient's blood pressure dropped after two weeks of regular use of the sensor.
Sometimes, if the patient forgets to take the medication, the medical staff can even contact them that day to urge them to take the medication, but even if the patient does not have the phone while taking the medication, the patch will report the dose to the phone when the phone is synchronizing with Bluetooth , Or they will keep the dose record until the next patient visits the doctor.
Proteus digestive sensor built into the drug (not final package)
New era, new possibilities
Proteus is also working with other drug companies outside of Otsuka to launch applications, including Novartis, and others have announced that they will conduct their own smart-tablet technology trials.
'We really see this as a platform that will ultimately apply to the entire pharmaceutical arena.' 'Proteus's Savage said:' Of course the key is where you need to focus first and how to prioritize each application Level
Thompson points out that getting approved to incorporate Proteus sensors and patches into the original FDA approved drug is much easier than getting a completely new formula approved Otsuka first approved Abilify MyCite in June 2015, The FDA asked it to submit more information last year and did not approve it until November 13.
Not only are researchers working with Proteus and its drug company partners working on digestible technology, but an upcoming article in the December issue of Anesthesia and Pain reports about etectRx from Gainesville, Fla. The system, designed to track the use of opioids in patients with fractures, was also announced in September that its technology will be used in a study on HIV prevention drugs.
The use of digestible sensors may not be limited to keeping track of whether people are taking medications. "Digestible sensors have been around for some time," said Ketioti. "Early digestible sensors were designed to capture photos from the gastrointestinal tract Or video. '
Devices known as capsule endoscopy cameras can be used in more invasive procedures such as colonoscopy.With the enhanced collaboration between wearable technology and common devices like smartphones, pill-based Sensors will have a greater chance of being used at home rather than in hospitals, and recently scientists are investigating how swallowable devices can maximize the chemical reactions of the body's own body to produce electricity as it passes through the digestive tract.
To Thompson, the technology opens up new possibilities for the pharmaceutical industry to take advantage of modern digital technologies.'It is clear that the technology today may bring many different possibilities.'He said, 'People should believe that, This is a new era in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry has the opportunity to integrate sensors and software into their toolbox.
