AST 'CHAMPIONS' Edition December 2017 Digital-Dec | Page 65

Volume 18
Eventually, the patient poops out the tiny trans-
mitter. Chai says he does not want the transmit-
ters back.
December 2017 Edition
sion of these digital pill detectors.
“We’re playing with the 1990s iPod. We have the
iPhone X now,” Chai says.
“EVENTUALLY, THE PATIENT POOPS
OUT THE TINY TRANSMITTER” Of course, the patients will still actually have to
wear the device — when they forgot, their doc-
tors were left just as in the dark as before.
The team sent 15 patients who’d been treated
for broken bones home with 21 of these pills,
along with instructions to take them for a week
as needed. Original
post
https://www.theverge.
com/2017/11/20/16683272/digital-pills-opioids-
prescription-pain-killers-addiction-overdose-sci-
ence
The researchers found that most patients start-
ed tapering their opioid doses on their own, and
stopped after about four days — before the full
week was up. Editor’s note: ID-Cap is currently only available
for use in IRB-approved clinical research. Not for
sale in the US, pending FDA clearance.
None took all 21 pills, and most took many fewer
— which means doctors might be sending people
with fractures home with too many painkillers that
could then be sold or misused.
** http://etectrx.com/wp-content/up -
loads/2017/07/JMAR-Dr.-Peter-Chai-article.pdf
The researchers also spotted an alarming trend:
people were taking painkillers right before going
to sleep to pre-empt waking up with pain.
But Chai says this could lead to dangerous drops
in breathing for some people — and it’s a prac-
tice they might not have identified without the
digital pills.
It’s still early, but Chai says that the next round of
studies will use an even more sophisticated ver-
(Learn More. Different product but somewhat similar technol-
ogy, explained. Courtesy of PodReel and YouTube)
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