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FDA authorizes Pfizer's Covid antiviral pill for people 12 and older
The FDA has issued an emergency authorization Pfizer's COVID antiviral pill, making it the first oral method for treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.
ISS experiment will investigate how pills dissolve in space
Space is weird, and it's well known that floating around up there takes its toll on our fragile human bodies. If we're to ever conquer the final frontier, we'll need to do more than eat our greens to keep healthy in alien conditions. A new experiment, soon to be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS), will look at how pills dissolve in microgravity, because astronauts get sick too. It's hoped that results of the "Hard to Wet Surfaces" study, devised by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, could lead to the development of better drug formulations that are more effective in space, and possibly on Earth.
Australian firefighters test data-transmitting pills to monitor biometrics during work
A new swallowable pill has been trialled with 50 firefighters in Australia, aimed at monitoring body temperatures and other vital readings when working under extreme conditions. Using Equivital's VitalSense Core Temperature capsules, they transmit readings to the companion EQ02 LifeMonitor, housed on the chest. This then sends data on skin temperature, heart rate and respiration rate to an external computer. If a firefighter's core body temperature is increasing too quickly, they can then be moved from the frontline to a recovery area, hopefully reducing accidents and deaths caused by heat exhaustion. Until now, the standard method involved measuring body temperatures through the ear, but this new method -- which was also used to monitor Felix Baumgartner's 23-mile drop to Earth -- offers a faster, more effective way of monitoring multiple vital signs. Research has so far focused on monitoring a firefighters' core temperature when they've been exposed to temperatures between from -3 to 124 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes, but according to News.com.au, testing will continue on the Equivital capsules, with temperatures likely to go as high as 600 degrees Celsius -- about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. We're just hoping that electrical firewands are next on the list.
FDA approves Proteus Digital Health's e-pills for dose monitoring
An "ingestible sensor" doesn't sound like the tastiest of snacks, but soon it might be just what the doctor ordered. A tiny microchip which activates upon contact with stomach acid has recently been given the green light by the US FDA. When the sensor is swallowed, an external patch picks up its signal and shoots a message over to whoever it's supposed to. The technology is aimed at tackling an issue known in the healthcare biz as compliance -- or, following instructions. Correct timing and dose are important for many drugs, and lax schedules can be responsible for treatment failures or the development of nasty drug-resistant bugs. Although the pills have only been used in trials, one pharmaceutical heavyweight has already bagged a license to the technology for real-world applications. If you don't like the thought of a belly full of microchips, no need to worry -- the harmless sensors pass naturally after completing their mission.
Japanese researchers develop 'swimming' endoscope, we suggest being nicer to your doctor
Sure, pills that survey the wild and nauseating gastric landscape have been done before -- but how about one that can "swim" to input from a doctor-controlled joystick? A team of Japanese researchers have successfully achieved just that, with a newer, smaller, creepier version of a device they call "Mermaid." Ariel jokes aside, the tadpole-shaped accessory has successfully self-propelled itself around different parts of its host's digestive tract, all while dutifully phoning home with what we presume are pictures only a licensed physician could stomach. Whether or not the entire shindig was in high definition wasn't specified, but let's pretend your brain didn't just wonder precisely that.
UCSF's robotic pharmacy automatically distributes medication, scrutinizes human error (video)
Robots are slowly taking over the world, right? Well, their latest conquest is the pharmacy. The UCSF Medical Center has implemented three robotic pill-dispensing machines that handle and prepare medication that's dangerous to the common human. The process works as follows: doctor writes a prescription, hospital clerk sends it over to pharmacist, pharmacist enters slip into the computer, robot picks up it and does the dirty work. The automated machine will grab the proper dosage, package it and slap a label indicating instructions and patient info. Rather than fearing for their jobs (or lives), the folks at the UCSF at are excited about this robot-takeover 'cause it increases the time care-givers spend with patients while allowing pharmacists to work more efficiently with physicians in determining what medication to supply. The most impressive thing, we think, is that our robot pals have not had a single error since preparing 350,000 doses of meds. Take that, meatbags!
Vitality GlowCap review
The Vitality GlowCap concept's been floating about for years now, but it still slightly blows our minds -- you stick a tiny, battery-powered wireless computer on top of your pill bottle, which reminds you to take your medicine on time. Well, it turns out they aren't exactly a concept these days, as you can buy one for $10 with a $15 monthly plan, and we've actually spent the past month living with the chirping, glowing, AT&T-connected device, keeping a journal all the while. After the break, find out what a life-saving nag feels like. Note: Amazon's actually out of stock at the time of this writing, but Vitality says a new shipment should arrive tomorrow. %Gallery-114026%
Bluetooth-enabled meds to enter European bloodstreams
One of the great things about miniaturization is that it allows us to swallow things that a few short years ago were just a wonderful dream, from microprocessors to bowel scanners. Now a Swiss pharmaceutical company called Novartis AG is developing the Ingestible Event Marker (IEM), a chip that can be embedded in medication and, upon being activated by the patient's stomach acid, will send the doctor biometric data that gauges the drug's effectiveness (including heart rate, body temp, and body movements) via Bluetooth. The plan is to introduce the technology to monitor transplant recipients, although it could be expanded to other uses as well. If bioequivalence tests demonstrate that the device doesn't alter the effects of the pills, you could see 'em submitted for regulatory approval in Europe in the next 18 months.
Printable prescription drugs heading to a pharmacy near you?
If researchers at the University of Leeds, Durham University, and GlaxoSmithKline have their way, some drugs will be custom printed for you at the pharmacy in the near future. Prescription drugs are usually about 99.9 percent filler and 0.1 percent actual medication, so the new method they're working on would involve printing the active drug onto the surface of a pill in the pharmacy -- meaning that drugs could be customized for each person, and multiple drugs could potentially be included in one pill. The process currently only works with about one percent of prescriptions on the market, but they're moving toward expansion in the near future.
SmartPill evaluates, evacuates your GI tract
We've seen a number of medical manufacturers with a common goal: getting you to swallow microprocessor-filled horse pills for things like cauterizing small, internal wounds and dispensing drugs -- and now you can add the "evaluation of constipation" to the list! SmartPill is designed to cruise the GI tract, where it measures temperature and pH, provides temporal-spacial analysis, and differentiates between normal and abnormal transit times -- you know, "the usual." The data from the pill is transmitted to a receiver for later analysis by your doctor. As for what happens to the pill itself, we'll let you use your imagination. This one should be available for shipment in January 2010. PR after the break. And please: keep the comments classy.
New FpsBrain pills claim to make your eyes see games better
Listen, we're not doctors. Obviously. If we were doctors, we probably wouldn't be blogging. We'd be off doing highly lucrative doctor stuff. Still, even without years of fancy doctor schoolin', we can assure you that taking pills of any sort won't make you better at playing video games -- even when those pills are the new gamer-oriented FpsBrain Zoom "visual performance" enhancing capsules.These meds are set apart from FpsBrain's other offerings, which contain enough caffeine and guarana to allow most toddlers to tap into the Speed Force. Instead of filling you with raw energy, Zoom allows you to actually see better during your lengthy Halo 3 sessions, providing you with the ocular edge that ... aw, screw it. Taking good care of your eyes is important, but ordering dubious pills from European countries probably isn't the best way to do so. We prefer carrots! They're crunchy, delicious and American.
Vitality's GlowCaps remind you to pop those pills
In case the digital pill box is a bit too much for you current needs, Vitality is looking to give those one-off prescriptions a bit of added intelligence to make sure they get taken on time. The firm's GlowCaps seem to have been around for some time, but who's not kosher with having one less thing to remember each day? The caps purportedly fit onto standard prescription bottles, and can alert users that it's time to open wide by softly glowing, emailing the user or remote caregiver, and mailing you a monthly report of how you minded the signals. Additionally, an optional feature will actually enable the device to send in refill requests as your pill count begins to deplete, and if you use multiple caps, they can each talk wirelessly to the NightLite adapters that can translate the glow to your AC outlet. Pricing details aren't readily available, but we're sure a personal med-minder won't run you cheap.[Via Infosthetics]
MedSignals' digital pill box charts your dosage
As the field of devices that let caregivers step away and give the elderly more independence expands, it was just a matter of time before digital pill boxes hit the mainstream. The aptly-dubbed med-minder holds one's pills in separated compartments to divvy up the days, and send out audible alerts (as well as flashing LEDs) when it's time to take them, records the time of opening in its built-in memory, uploads the usage data automatically to a server, and allows for access to personal chart trackers that show if any days were skipped over or taken late. The 5- x 3.5- x 1-inch box stays permanently connected to both a telephone and AC outlet, and once a day it dials up a toll free number to deliver the latest statistics. The box can apparently be ordered right now for $169, but if your great grandmother figures out that she can just crack the lid and dump the pills, you're still back to square one.[Via MedGadget]
