Not to be too personal, but I'm one of those people who squirm at the very thought of a physician inserting just about anything into my body, especially if its length is measured in feet.
That's why I'm delighted to tell you about the SmartPill GI Monitoring System, which is a medical sensor that you swallow.
Here's how Genetic Engineering News describes what happens next:
When ingested, the SmartPill pH.p Capsule captures biomedical data from within a patient's entire gastrointestinal (GI) tract and wirelessly transmits that data to a small receiver worn on a belt clip. The SmartPill pH.p Capsule senses pH (acidity) and pressure from within the patient's GI tract, enabling gastroenterologists and researchers to more accurately diagnose and understand GI motility disorders such as gastroparesis.
The article makes no mention of how the device leaves your body, but I can guess and am fairly certain it's not reuseable.
GEN goes on to quote Dr. Braden Kuo, Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston who said, "The SmartPill is non-invasive, easy to administer, well-tolerated diagnostic that will make a significant impact on the ability to get the information that a doctor and a patient need to improve their overall treatment outcomes."
Pending FDA release, the SmartPill will be available for sale in the US in late Spring 2006.
Now that's more like it.
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