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Canadians Create Intelligent Medicine
RunAmuk writes "Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly, according to an article on Wired. As the sensors used in these pills grow more advanced are doctors going to be come obsolete except for real physical injuries? Of course, anyone who has been to a doctor in Canada understands that we need medicine that can do the diagnosis for them."
Engineers at the University of Calgary have developed a pill that, once swallowed, will determine how healthy or ill the patient is, and will release just the right amount of medicine accordingly.
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Dubbed the Intelligent Pill or iPill, the new drug-delivery system packs a micropump and sensors that monitor the body's temperature and pH balance into one pill. If the body's temperature and pH reach certain levels, the iPill responds by pumping out more or less of its drug payload. It could be used to treat many ailments like AIDS or diabetes.
"If you overdose yourself with pain relievers, you are killing your kidneys and liver," said the iPill's inventor, Wael Badawy, an electrical engineer at the University of Calgary . "The iPill will help people have healthier kidneys and liver, as it will only deliver the dose that's needed."
The device also can be programmed to release drugs at various intervals. This could be particularly useful in treating diseases such as cancer or AIDS, where cocktails of many different medications may be required at constant intervals.
"Instead of taking many pills at different times, with the iPill you could adjust its timer and swallow them all at once and get the right doses at the right times," Badawy said.
The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size (roughly equal to the size of CmdrTaco's penis), fills a space smaller than the area of 10 blood cells. It is encapsulated in a penny-size plastic casing that is resistant to stomach acids.
Keeping the iPill small does, however, mean the device can only store one milliliter of drugs in its internal reservoir. But that should be enough for many drugs.
"It comes down to what drug you're using -- this may be a big enough reservoir," said Derek Hansford, professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Ohio State University. "They could increase the size of the pill, and the gadgetry wouldn't have to be increased. This would leave them more room."
Badawy's prototype iPill has an ARM VII microprocessor, produced by Advanced RISC Machines , and silicon-oxide sensors.
The sensors feed information about the patient's body to the iPill's chip, which in turn controls the micropumps that squeeze out a drug dose.
"When an electrical voltage is applied to the smart material of the pumps, the pumps expand and force the drug down a channel and out of the pill," Badawy said.
The system is powered by supercapacitors -- layers of metal that store up to four hours of power. Once the device does its work, it goes out the way of all solid human waste products, usually within one to three days.
So far the iPill has only been put through its paces in the lab, where it has been immersed in vats of varying acidities to see if it would release the appropriate amounts of drugs.
Badawy says the tests have so far been 100 percent reliable, but the iPill has some kinks that need to be ironed out before it would be fit for human consumption. One remaining issue is the power source.
"We are looking at ways to prolong the working time, and this is one of our biggest problems. We are looking for an alternative power source so it will last for 12 hours or one day," Badawy said.
Despite the challenges, some have hailed the iPill as a breakthrough.
"It would allow for temperature and pH readings in more than one place in the body and, most importantly, this is done in a completely noninvasive way," said Michael Simpson, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
"If I had a drug that could measure glucose levels and deliver the drug based on this, it would be great" for patients who have diabetes, said endocrinologist Dan Berger at the Sansom Santa Barbara Clinic.
Badawy said he expects the iPill will be available for animal testing within two years, and a product approved for human use in four to five. It should sell for about 10 cents a pill, he said.
Okay pill, I think I have a pain in my chest, come cure me.
No wait, scratch that. It could be a heart attack.
Maybe I should go to the doctor after all.
-You may license this sig for only $6.99.
The iPill's electronic gadgetry, 400 square micrometers in size (roughly equal to the size of CmdrTaco's penis),
And moderators automatically mod these things up?
I've got a fever and the only prescription is more COBOL.
Socialized medicine in Canada works like this:
1. You pay (via your taxes).
2. You are promised health care.
3. You get sick.
4. You wait (25% of all cardiac patients referred to a specialist by their general practitioner die before being seen). 5. You get care on a par with U.S.-style Medicaid.
Furthermore, if you move between provinces or are a returning expatriate (like me) (at least in the case of moving to Ontario), you have to sign a form that you intend to reside there permanently before being eligible for health care. As I hate it here and intend to try again for eventual U.S. citizenship via the H1B/Green Card route (heck, my three year old son is an American), I can not, in all honesty sign that form, and so, do not have health insurance. Nor can I buy it instead of the state insurance, legally. I pay to see a doctor.
Purchasing health insurance outside the system is illegal.
In Canada, you can have a sick patient able to pay top dollar for needed surgery, doctors who have reached the government quota on how many such surgeries thay can perform (to cap thier salaries, paid out of tax dollars) and thus can't perform it. Doctors are paid the same rate (well, indexed for geographic region), and can't differentiate on the basis of skill -- the best leave for the U.S.
Often it is noted that the cost of providing health care is less in Canada than the U.S. This may be true, but the quality of care available is far, far, inferior.
You could've hired me.
Here's something I've always wondered about: "up here" (heh) we call it public healthcare, I think I've only ever heard it called "socialized medicine" in the States. It's like the easiest way for the companies in the States to keep their massize industry is to slap a communist implication on it and let the public beat up anyone who voices their opinion for it.
BTW, this is more of a general observation on US politics than a specific comment on healthcare.... it seems to happen in everything. Oh well, some misconceptions die hard.
That was merely intended to be a cheap shot from a rabidly jingoistic twit who's been taught by CNN to hate all government programs not invented in the good ol' US of A and desperately wants to move down there. Pay it no mind.
Here's a quick lesson to those unfamiliar with Medicare up here: the government doesn't run the entire health care system like in Soviet-style communism, they merely fund universal insurance. That's the incomplete short version, but that's the basics.
Not to be confused with the US gov't Medicare program, a totally different animal.
You seem a little harsh, and I have a hard time believing you're canadian. I've never had any of the above mentioned problems, and neither did my friend when he got lukemia. I have never heard of this surgeon quota, and a quick google search didn't find me anything.
There are some problems, however. The salaries do need to go up for doctors and surgeons., as a lot (but certainly not all) do head to the US. Its not an astronomical number as you imply, though.
Most life threatening surgeries/treatments are done quickly, but its the non life threatening ones that are the bitch. Waiting lists for knee surgeries and the like are almost a year!
Also, there is a lot of fraud and abuse of the system, which costs a lot, and spending lately has not gone up proportionally to inflation and population growth. Private clinics/hospitals are not the answer here. More money and some internal competition is what is needed, and more money to doctors and less to management.
You're rant about how much you "hate it here" tells me that you're either not canadian or spent little time here or both. Either way, go back the the US, if you like it that much. But ask and you'll find 98% of us are very happy here, and we can get started on what's wrong with the USA.
Canada does have a very good health care system. Basically, Canadians have longer lifespans and lower infant mortality than Americans, while Canada spends far less per capita on health care.
Lots of people will give you anecdotal stories about Canadians being denied health care and long waiting lists and incompetent doctors, but stuff like that happens under HMOs too. Some people call it socialized medicine, though I think it's also called a 'single payer' system, where the government is acting as your insurer.
Communism \Com"mu*nism\, n. [F. communisme, fr. commun common.]
A scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life;
specifically, a scheme which contemplates the abolition of
inequalities in the possession of property, as by
distributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding all
wealth in common for the equal use and advantage of all.
!= socialism.
Try Corewar @ www.koth.org - rec.games.corewar
I for one welcome our new Canadian Overlords. Aboot time.
Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
Where did they get the 10 cents price figure? This does not make sense either from the standpoint of the industry that will use the device or the industry that will make the device. Nothing related to healthcare is ever 10 cents -- FDA regs on manufacturing, the amortized cost of approvals, and sterile packaging all conspire to add cost. Moreover, the device must carry and medicine cabinet's worth of drugs, with each drug adding to the cost of the device. Even extremely simple ICs have a hard time getting to 10 cents and this little pill is far more complicated than a simple IC because it contains a CPU, powercell, biosensors, and medicine-dispensing MEMs. I'm not against the invention because it does sound like a really good idea. I am against hyping the device with unrealistic projections of price and capability.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Born 1961, Montreal, Quebec.
I've never had any of the above mentioned problems, and neither did my friend when he got lukemia.
Then you and your friend have been extremely lucky. Know this: the funds for that care, in some small part, came from an individual who never needed more than a routine doctor's visit, until he needed repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Left untreated this is a death sentence. The best surgeons in the U.S. have a 70% recovery rate. The surgery was denied in Canada. Had the patient purchased U.S.-style private health insurance, or even self-insured, with the tax dollars he paid for health care since it was was socialized in Canada, affording the surgery would have been a non-issue, with plenty of funds to spare. However, he was literally taxed to death, denied the means to save his own life with his own money.
I have never heard of this surgeon quota, and a quick google search didn't find me anything.
You think it would be front page news? Look deeper, like for waiting lists for moderate surgery, like hip replacements, etc. Why are there waiting lists at the same time that doctor's salaries are capped? If there are waiting lists, there is demand, yet supply is curtailed.
There are some problems, however. The salaries do need to go up for doctors and surgeons., as a lot (but certainly not all) do head to the US. Its not an astronomical number as you imply, though.
Salaries need to be established by a free market, and not capped by state fiat. As for transmigration between Canada and the U.S., a far greater percentage of Canadians leave to go south, than the reverse -- IIRC 1/10 as many Americans emmigrate to Canada, in terms of sheer numbers, but that translates into 1/100th of the population. IOW, Canadians are 100 times as likely to leave for the U.S. than the reverse. Wonder why?
Most life threatening surgeries/treatments are done quickly, but its the non life threatening ones that are the bitch. Waiting lists for knee surgeries and the like are almost a year!
See my notes on this above. When "most" is "less than would have happened on a free market with the patient's own funds", this is state-sanctioned murder.
More money and some internal competition is what is needed, and more money to doctors and less to management.
Only a free market can deliver this -- Canada has been throwing money at health care for decades, rather than letting the health care system earn what it deserves bassed on service and volume provided.
You're rant about how much you "hate it here" tells me that you're either not canadian or spent little time here or both. Either way, go back the the US, if you like it that much.
I was born in and lived in Canada from 1961 to 1997, left for the U.S. with family and lived there from late 1997 to early 2003, having to return for visa reasons. I would gladly leave again at the first opportunity, no doubt pleasing us both.
But ask and you'll find 98% of us are very happy here, and we can get started on what's wrong with the USA.
Of course 98% are happy! They rob and murder the remainder. Hence, my broad generalization that 98% of Canadians are liars, thieves, and murderers.
Time and time again, I've been told to lie on government forms to "get what I need", saying, for example, that I intend to live in Ontario permanently. A society where deceipt is an essential part of the culture, essential for survival is a very unhealthy one.
As for the U.S., there are plenty of problems there. In fact, compared to most Canadians, I called most Americans "paranoid, opinionated, blowhards". I figured if I was going to generalize and catch those that do not fit the description in such a wide net, I may as well seek the worst in the place I prefer. I reiterate, I prefer opinionated blowhards to murderers.
You could've hired me.
I agree. HMOs suck and it's so very complicated. You have to make sure the doctor is in your network, and in your area, etc. I had to be referred twice and see 3 doctors before i could get minor surgery on my toe. Oh yea, as i was writhing in pain, it took a month to get looked at. Mind you i am paying 400$ a month for this "Service". Medications are covered at a percentage if it's generic, otherwise you pay. Most things get denied by HMOs as they have full say as to what they cover, etc... I'm sorry, but the US is not that grand. Canada was easier to be honest, and cheaper even if you "Have no choice".
Der Tod ist der einzige Weg hier raus!
As a dual American / Canadian citizen, no, I'm afraid I can't. I've noticed little or no difference between any individual doctors whether they be north or south of some largely irrelevant political boundary. As to your preference for the current system, well, I can only suppose you spoke out of affluence or ignorance. The overly affluent medical industry clearly and unethically exploits the disadvantaged, elderly and impoverished. Imho, doctors should care about patients, not profits. If they want to get rich, they should have gotten an MBA.
As for socialized medicine, there's nothing left-wing or communistic or socialistic about a cost-shared, equal access, publicly accountable, non profit, basic and open health care system. It would simply be cost effective and humane, nothing more, nothing less.
Beside, north or south of the border, it really doesn't matter, as it's actually a very similar situation. Canadians have issues with heathcare access as well. In fact, they largely stem from the same root cause, greed. Whatever good the medical industry does, is offset by the harm it currently causes. Doctors have so eroded the trust we placed in them that they've created a largely unregulated alternate health mass movement based on pseudoscience, rumor and supposition. Furthermore, natural and useful substances are dismissed simply because they aren't profitable enough. In these ways, millions of Americans and Canadians are denied effective treatment or even factual information. Drug companies routinely influence drug studies, prescription decisions and the market and certainly not for the betterment of all. This is a good thing?
If anyone thinks that every social system should be governed by those who profit from it, then accept that people will always be exploited. Those who would manage with only short term profits in mind are simply ignoring long term cost in order to try to justify an excessive lifestyle they haven't earned. That's hardly an ideal I'd promote. Really, from my perspective, the successful thieves are the ones holding the bags of money. By the way, have you seen the movie, Patch Adams? Tell me, in all honesty, isn't he a the kind of doctor we really should be seeking? Personally, imho, he should be running the whole health show. Not like we'd ever have the courage and conviction to see that through. Am I the only one who sees the imminent decline and fall of the American empire? To me it seems we allowed the wealthy to totally corrupt the system to the point of no return, and, as to personal sacrifice, no, I won't post this anonymously.
Words to men, as air to birds.