Family doctors could start prescribing pills that include a tiny computer, which can monitor a person’s health and send the data in an email.
Similar devices have already been used with astronauts for space travel, and it is expected they could become more mainstream within 12 months.
One of these pills, reports the New York Times, is made by Proteus Digital Health in California, and does not need a battery because it uses the body as a power source. Magnesium and copper on each side of a tiny sensor uses stomach acids to generate electricity.
When the pill hits the bottom of the stomach, information is then sent to a mobile app through a patch worn on the body.
It is hoped the pills will be able to aid with physical and neurological problems and US$62.5 million has already been received from investors.
Another pill is the CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Temperature Sensor, created by HQ Inc. This one contains a tiny battery and transmits data concerning body temperature as it passes through.
Another use for such devices is authentication. Rather than having to type in a password to unlock a phone, the user could become the password because they have such a pill inside them.
John Perry Barlow, founder of privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, said: “This is yet another one of these technologies where there are wonderful options and terrible options, simultaneously.
“The wonderful is that there are a great number of things you want to know about yourself on a continual basis, especially if you’re diabetic or suffer from another disease. The terrible is that health insurance companies could know about the inner workings of your body.”
