Proteus receives patent for its 'smart pill'

Proteus Biomedical announced that its ‘smart pill’ and biometric system was awarded US Patent Service Patent Number 7,978,064 for the Proteus Raisin System: pill and micro-electronic recorder (either as skin patch or implantable device). Notably the release addresses one concern that Ed. Donna has had about what the marker inside the pill is really made of. ‘The Proteus Ingestible Event Marker (IEM)…is a tiny, grain of sand-sized, micro-fabricated device composed from materials found in the food chain. [Ed. emphasis] The IEM can be integrated into any pharmaceutical tablet or capsule to allow real-time detection of pill ingestion, thereby helping measure and improve patient adherence to medications and dosing regimens.’ (Well, that’s a relief!) Proteus release. Also of interest: a recently published study that used the Proteus system for tracking medication compliance and physiologic data with patients at home. Early Clinical Experience With Networked System for Promoting Patient Self-Management