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Smart Pill Reports on Body from the Inside

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the looks-fine-from-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In the 1966 movie "Fantastic Voyage," scientists enter the submarine Proteus, which is miniaturized so they can go inside the body of Jan Benes and save him. While such feats may be a ways off, a new smart pill "enters and exits the body through preexisting orifices" and reports on what it finds along the way, including temperature and pH. Sounds a bit creepy, but apparently it can lickety-split diagnose a disease that otherwise requires lots of uncomfortable probing."

4 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Look out by neonprimetime · · Score: 4, Funny

    The 26-by-13-millimeter smart pill, about the size of a multivitamin capsule, would go in and out natural orifices and report on everything in between

    And we were worried about the government wire-tapping our phones?

  2. Here's hoping... by digitalgiblet · · Score: 5, Funny
    "enters and exits the body through preexisting orifices"

    Here's hoping this means you swallow it and it exits through the other end and NOT that it enters said other end and claws its way up to exit from your mouth.

  3. Prexisting orifices? by phamlen · · Score: 4, Funny
    From the article:
    The disposable $500 pill--which enters and exits the body through preexisting orifices.

    Preexisting orifices? I guess we should be thankful they don't enter and exit through non-preexisting orifices - I can just imagine a doctor saying "There's this great new SmartPill but I'm gonna have to tear you a new asshole to use it."

    -Peter
  4. Pill Camera by Trailwalker · · Score: 4, Informative

    I had this procedure done about six weeks ago. The pill sized camera takes hundreds of pix and transmits the images to a unit I wore on a belt. After the time was up, the nurse opened the receiving unit and showed me the flash memory cartridge used to store the images.

    Happily, I wasn't required to view the resulting pix, and the camera ended up in the local sewer system.

    Painless, and you can do what you want while waiting for the six hours or so pass.

    Here is some info about the procedure.