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System Like 3D GPS Tracks Pill Cams Through GI Tract


Artist's conception of wireless devices moving through the gastrointestinal tract.

The new platform includes an ingestible microdevice for the anatomical mapping of the gastrointestinal tract, which interfaces with a wireless Bluetooth receiver (such as a smartphone) to map field data to the corresponding spatial location.

Credit: Caltech

Researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the California Institute of Technology have created a system that three-dimensionally (3D) tracks wireless ingestible devices throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

The ingestible device that maps the GI tract (iMAG) engages with a wireless Bluetooth receiver to correlate field data to spatial location for real-time tracking as it travels through the body.

The system produces a 3D magnetic field via electromagnetic coils positioned at the patient's back.

The researchers found the iMAG could measure activity in a pig's gut accurately when tracked with magnetic fields and X-rays.

Brigham's Giovanni Traverso said, "Such a portable and non-invasive procedure holds the potential for significant clinical benefit without causing patients discomfort."

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