SBIR Phase I: Electronic Pills for Medication Compliance

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将评估电子药丸用于药物依从性监测的使用。药物依从性监测在药物临床试验、老年病学和精神健康/成瘾医学（以及其他领域）中至关重要。该第一阶段项目将研究体内监测电子设备在药物依从性方面的应用。三种类型的技术将被研究，原型，并评估药物依从性监测。此外，该团队将严格研究这一和许多未来潜在监测技术的通信渠道（人体躯干）。该项目的目标是设计和原型电子药丸技术，无论是进入药物胶囊或作为现有胶囊或药丸的涂层。手持射频通信设备将感知胃肠道中药丸的存在，并积极确认药物治疗方案是否得到适当的遵循。这种电子药丸技术和研发将有助于扩大快速发展的体内遥测领域。通过人体躯干感测的传输特性和最低要求的研究是设计和构建用于生物遥测的无线、低功耗、体内设备的重要一步。此外，药物依从性在许多医学领域都非常重要。特别是，更好的合规性监测可以大大降低与FDA批准药物相关的成本，并为准确确定低概率副作用提供显着改进的数据。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will evaluate the use of electronic pills for medication compliance monitoring. Medication compliance monitoring is critical in (among other areas) pharmaceutical clinical trials, geriatrics, and mental health/addiction medicine. This Phase I project will study the application of in vivo monitoring electronics to medication compliance. Three types of technologies will be studied, prototyped, and evaluated for medication compliance monitoring. In addition, the team will rigorously study the communication channel (the human torso) for this and many future potential monitoring techniques. The goal of the project is to design and prototype electronic pill technology either into a medication capsule or as a coating on an existing capsule or pill. A handheld RF communication device will sense the presence of the pill in the GI tract and positively confirm that the medication regimen was followedappropriately.This electronic pill technology and R&D will help expand the rapidly growing field of in vivo telemetry. The study of the transmission characteristics and minimal requirements for sensing through the human torso is an important step to designing and building wireless, low power, in vivo devices for biotelemetry. Additionally, the field of medication compliance is tremendously important in many areas of medicine. In particular, better compliance monitoring can greatly reduce the costs associated with FDA approval of pharmaceuticals as well as provide dramatically improved data for accurate determination of low probability side effects.