UAE: New ‘smart pills’ to improve diagnosis, treatment of gastrointestinal disorders

UAE: New ‘smart pills’ to improve diagnosis, treatment of gastrointestinal disorders

This new technology holds the potential for future use in clinical applications including minimally-invasive procedures

Published: Tue 14 Feb 2023, 1:39 PM Last updated: Tue 14 Feb 2023, 2:11 PM

A team of researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed a new, non-invasive system to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders.

To track the movement of an ingestible “smart pill” through the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the researchers led by Khalil Ramadi, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at NYUAD have generated 3D magnetic field gradients using high-frequency electromagnetic coils that encode each spatial point with a distinct magnetic field magnitude.

The field magnitude is measured and transmitted by the “smart pill” to determine its precise location, which is then communicated to a smartphone using Bluetooth technology.

Existing 'smart pills' do not offer the large field-of-view (FOV), high spatial resolution, and fully wireless operation that the 3D magnetic field gradient developed by the researchers allows for. This new technology holds the potential for future use in clinical applications such as more accurate and efficient diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders and the precise targeting of therapeutic interventions and minimally-invasive procedures.

The ingestible wireless device senses and transmits its local magnetic field to an outside receiver. The magnetic