NHS trials talking pill

Edible microchips could be used in a variety of medicines

The NHS is about to begin trials of a pill containing a digestible microchip which reacts to stomach fluids.

The pill sends a message to a sensor in a sticking plaster on the patient's shoulder. If this message is not received, the sensor sends a text message to the patient to remind them to take their medication.

The shoulder-mounted sensor is also able to monitor the patient's heart-rate, and whether they sit up frequently while sleeping; an indication of fluid in the lungs, itself a potential side-effect of heart-failure.

It can use this information to recommend a change in the dose to the patient, or send a message to carers about a change in the patient's status.

NHS chiefs hope that the technology, known as the Raisin system, could improve the health of vulnerable patients and reduce costs by moving more of the responsibility to the end user.

The pills, from US company Proteus, will be trialled for four months on 40 NHS patients with heart failure, at Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London and the Royal Berkshire Trust in Reading. If effective, a year-long trial will begin in 2011 to measure the effect of the technology on reducing hospital admissions.

A report in The Independent cited Nicholas Peters, professor of cardiology at Imperial College and a consultant to Proteus. He said: "The whole idea of this technology is to inform patients about their own well-being, to encourage them to take the tablets and to take responsibility for their own health. It can help them stay stable and prevent them getting on to the slippery slope that leads to hospitalisation."