Pill Combines Biology, Electronics to Recognize Diseases

 

Researchers say a pill could soon send radio signals from inside your stomach to help doctors recognize signs of disease.

Scientists have developed a small pill for patients to swallow. It mixes synthetic¹ biology and electronics to find bleeding in the stomach and other parts of the digestive tract².

The system can be changed for many medical, environmental and other uses, the researchers said.

The biological part of the pill uses bacteria engineered to light up when it comes in contact with heme, the iron-containing molecule³ in blood.

The electronic side includes a small light detector⁴, computer and computer chip. It also has a battery to provide power and a transmitter that sends information to a cellphone or computer.

"A major challenge for sensing in the GI (gastrointestinal) tract is, the space available for a device is very limited," said electrical engineer Phillip Nadeau. He is with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts.

Using very low-power electronics, Nadeau and other engineers put all the parts in a pill. It measures about 3 centimeters long by 1 centimeter wide.

The pill is still a little too big to swallow, but Nadeau says it likely can be engineered to a third that size.

The engineered bacteria are in areas covered by a membrane⁵. This thin, soft material lets small molecules⁶ in, but does not let the organisms out.

The researchers say the bacteria can be engineered to die if they accidentally leak from the pill. Future models may just use the most important enzymes⁷ instead of whole bacteria.

In laboratory tests, the pill successfully identified pigs fed small amounts of blood from those not given blood. The pill has not been tested on human beings, but the team hopes to do so in the next year or two.

Since the parts cost little to manufacture, researchers believe that, once ready, the final product would sell for tens to hundreds of dollars. And they say the same method could be used to identify markers for disease or to find chemicals in the environment.

"It's really exciting, and I think it's got a lot of legs," said Rice University bioengineer Jeff Tabor. He was not part of the research team.

But Tabor notes that the sensors⁸ may need to be much more sensitive than what was used in the pig tests. He says there may be much less blood in the stomachs of real human patients than what the pigs were given. Other conditions may have the same limitations.

"For many actual diseases, you might have far less of the molecule you need to sense available to you," he added.

A report on the study was published in the journal Science.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

pill – n. a small, rounded object that you swallow and that contains medicine

stomach – n. the organ in your body where food goes and begins to break down after you swallow it

synthetic – adj. made by combining different substances; man-made, not natural

digestive tract – n. a series of organs in the body, including the stomach and the intestines⁹

detector – n. a device for identifying or measuring the presence of something

challenge – n. a problem; an invitation to compete

transmitter – n. a device that sends out signals

1 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

2 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

3 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

4 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

5 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

6 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

8 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

9 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句