"With the amazing advancement of nanotechnology, one possible way for the future of drug making is to produce “digestibles“. These tiny pills or gadgets combined with a sensor could track digestion and the absorption of drugs after swallowing them.
In 2015, the FDA approved the first drug product combined with a digestible sensor. The Japanese Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Proteus Digital Health combined a digestible sensor with a type of drug against mental illness. With the patient’s approval, the ingestible sensor communicates with a wearable sensor patch if the drug is taken; then the information is transmitted to a smartphone or tablet of the caretaker or the patient himself. The ultimate aim is to measure drug adherence in the treatment of adults with schizophrenia, acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder, and as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of major depressive disorders in adults."