Key points from article :
A robot pill delivering insulin directly to the gut could replace multiple painful injections for diabetic patients.
It also offers hope of battling superbugs with oral medications.
RoboCap capsule, in a swine model, increased permeability for insulin more than tenfold.
Similar results were seen for intravenously delivered vancomycin antibiotics.
Swallowing is safer, more convenient and less invasive.
Lead author Dr. Giovanni Traverso, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said: “RoboCap’s mucus-clearing and churning movements are designed to overcome these barriers and help deliver drugs to where they are needed.”
About the size of a blueberry, the inexpensive device is made from biodegradable polymer and stainless steel components.
The standard injection of insulin is 100 international units (iu) per shot.
Previous attempts to develop an insulin pill have had to carry around 500iu to properly function.
37 million Americans, or more than one in 10, suffer from diabetes.
