Photo credit: MIT News
Unlike the electroceutical FLASH capsule, this ingestible smart capsule, developed by researchers at MIT, Celero Systems and West Virginia University, can measure vital signs in real-time to diagnose sleep disorders. This multivitamin-sized capsule utilizes an accelerometer to measure the patient’s breathing rate as well as heart rate and in addition to diagnosing sleep apnea, it could also be useful for detecting opioid overdoses in people at high risk.
The researchers conducted a study with 10 human volunteers, and it showed that the capsule can be used to monitor vital signs as well as detect sleep apnea episodes, which occur when the patient repeatedly stops and starts breathing during sleep. The most impressive fact was that all of the patients did not show any adverse effects from the capsule since it passed harmlessly through the digestive tract.
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It’s an exciting intervention to help people be diagnosed and then receive the appropriate treatment if they suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. The device also has the potential for early detection of changes in respiratory status, whether it’s a result of opiates or other conditions that could be monitored, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” says Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.
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