(WSVN) - The FDA has approved a new digital pill that will have a built-in sensor that will track if patients are taking their medication properly.
According to Fox News, the medicine is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd’s drug Abilify, which is used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.
The sensor for the pill will contain a tracking device developed by Proteus Digital Health, and it will monitor if the patient is taking their medicine on schedule.
The sensor is about the size of a grain of salt, and it has no battery or antenna. It’s activated when it gets wet from stomach juices, Fox News reports. It will connect to a wearable patch, which then sends the information to a cellphone application that stores the information.
The hope is that similar pills can be developed for patients with other conditions like diabetes or heart conditions.
Since announcing the pill, shares in Otsuka rose 2.5 percent on Tuesday.
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