Called PillBot, this pill designed by the company Endiatx can allow a doctor to monitor a person’s health.
An alternative to traditional endoscopy? While this method of visually exploring the stomach is invasive and potentially painful, the company Endiatx has designed a pill to make this easier and faster. Called PillBot, it is a robotic device equipped with an advanced camera system that can capture high-resolution video.
Equipped with a propulsion system, this pill can be ingested and allow a doctor to observe a person’s digestive system live and up close using the video stream transmitted to their computer or phone, such as reports the American site VentureBeat. It can also be controlled by the latter with a simple gamepad.
A pill soon controlled by AI?
Endiatx has planned several improvements for its PillBot. “It can transmit high-resolution video at a speed of 2.3 megapixels per second, and we plan to quadruple that video quality soon,” CEO Torrey Smith told VentureBeat.
While only a doctor can control the pill for now, the CEO hopes that artificial intelligence (AI) will make the device autonomous. This technology could also help reach a wider audience and save lives through early detection and treatment of gastrointestinal problems, he says.
“AI will allow us to go from 1% of people having access to this technology to 100% of people having access to it several times a year if necessary,” said Torrey Smith.
The company is currently conducting clinical trials with its pill, before moving on to testing at a US medical facility renowned for its expertise in gastroenterology later this year. The CEO himself has tested the PillBot, having already swallowed 43 of them.
Endiatx hopes to obtain approval from the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) and commercially launch its product in the United States by early 2026. The company envisions a future where its PillBots will be readily available and affordable, making diagnostic procedures more accessible, more convenient and more cost-effective for patients.
