Researchers from MIT, Draper, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a 3D printed ingestible capsule that can be controlled wirelessly to deliver drugs to patients. A team comprised of researchers from MIT, Draper, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital is aiming to revolutionize the way that medication is delivered with a new 3D printed ingestible capsule that can be controlled using Bluetooth wireless technology. Residing in the stomach for at least a month, the 3D printed capsule is able to transmit information and respond to instructions from the user’s smartphone. The researchers also claim that the 3D printed ingestible device can be engineered to sense infections, allergic reactions, and other immediate conditions, and then deliver treatment accordingly. The recent development of this 3D printed capsule comes on the back of several years worth of research on ingestible sensors and drug delivery capsules. Back in 2016, the very same research team created a star-shaped capsule that had six foldable arms encased within a smooth capsule. On top of that, 3D printing allowed them to alternate layers of stiff and flexible polymers, helping the capsule to resist the acidic environment of the stomach.

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