According to the researchers, the system enables users to monitor their gastrointestinal (GI) tract health at home via their smartphones.

Source: Khan Lab at USC

Making up the system is a wearable coil that produces a magnetic field interacting with sensors embedded in the ingested pill using AI. The team explained that the AI enables the users to identify the location of the pill as it travels through the GI tract.

The team added that the wearable coil generates an invisible magnetic field around the body. As the pill travels through the gastrointestinal system, it will detect changes in this field, which the body doesn’t prevent.

Computers typically use pre-set maps to monitor the pill’s location according to these changes. However, because the coil bends and moves with the body, the magnetic field will change in unexpected ways.

“To address this, we employ AI, enhanced by a flexible bend sensor, to model how the coil’s bending affects the field. By integrating these models into a neural network, we can accurately determine the location of the ingestible,” the researchers explained.

Further, the system relies on optical gas-sensing membranes to monitor 3D real-time concentrations of ammonia, which is a key indicator of bacteria linked to ulcers and gastric cancer.

Although the current system is primarily capable of measuring oxygen and ammonia, future iterations of the ingestible device might be used to detect a variety of other gases and biomarkers associated with other health conditions. For instance, it could potentially be used to detect gases like hydrogen, which might point to issues like lactose intolerance, or methane, which might signal conditions like constipation or too much bacteria in the small intestine.

During trials of the system, the researchers tested its performance in different mediums that mimic the GI tract — including simulated cow intestines and fluids that replicate stomach and intestinal environments. The device reportedly demonstrated its accuracy in both localization and gas measurement.

Additionally, the power source of the ingestible pill is silver oxide batteries, which are safe for use within the GI tract. The pill measures 26 mm x 10 mm, and the coil is 200 mm x 200 mm, the researchers added.