MIT researchers develop ingestible real-time vital sign monitor

Ingestible drug monitoring is already on its way--with the first drug to incorporate the technology already being considered by the FDA alongside a nod earlier this year for the tech itself from Protects. And ingestible imaging was approved by the FDA last year with PillCam, which is now owned by Medtronic ($MDT). The latest ingestible tech that may be up next before could be vital sign monitoring. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have published an animal proof-of-concept study of their ingestible vital sign monitor that tracks heart and respiratory rates in real time. This is expected to work in conjunction with telemedicine, as well as potentially to monitor high performance athletes and endangered workers such s those in the military of first responders. "Through characterisation of the acoustic wave, recorded from different parts of the GI tract, we found that we could measure both heart rate and respiratory rate with good accuracy," The research was sponsored by the Air Force as well as the National Institutes of Health.

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