Sep 13 2010
NHS will be testing pills integrated with microchips that can inform the patients of the actual time to have the tablets, by a text message. This advancement will aid most of the people in UK who fail to take vital medication at the proper time.
Dr Miriam Stoppard commented that such intelligent medicines will furnish precise, rapid treatment and people could take care of their health by themselves.
When the pills are taken, the microchips embedded in it react with the acid present in the stomach and transmit the signal to a sensor that has been fixed to the shoulder. The sensor will automatically send a reminder message to the computer or to the cell-phone, on forgetting a dosage of the medicine thus keeping the patients aware about their medications.
The recent experiments on 40 patients, carried out by the Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Royal Berkshire Hospital, will take four months to get the actual results. Upon successful execution of the trial, it will be continued in large scale employing more number of volunteers and will begin by early 2011.
Dr Miriam Stoppard added that this sensor technology will facilitate the patients with prolonged medications in case of diabetes, heart diseases or oral contraceptives.
The other application of sensor technology comprises the use of skin-protective UV bracelets, smarty-pants for heart monitoring and cancer-detecting toilet tissues.
The UV bracelet lessens the harm caused by sunlight exposure by changing the colour of the wristband thus prompting to reapply the sunscreen. The water-proof band functions with all SPF15 or higher sunscreens.
The waistband of the inner pants are fabricated with electrodes that work as biosensors and continuously take skin measurements upon contact and thus it can be deployed for monitoring heart-rate, blood pressure and other major symptoms regularly.
The toilet tissue determines un-seen faecal blood due to polyps, ulcers or bowel cancers. A blue-green colour appears within minutes of dropping the tissue in the bowl, indicating the presence of blood in the stool. Currently such tissues can be obtained in the US.
Source: http://www.nhs.uk