A pill that vibrates in the gut, another that tracks where things have gone wrong: Scientists recently found new ways to more effectively treat intestinal problems using not drugs but rather tiny robots to swallow — a field of research in full development, according to AFP.

The study, published Monday in the journal Nature electronics, details the operation of the pill, which, once swallowed, can be tracked along its path with an accuracy of 5 to 10 millimeters.

Such a device would make it much easier to identify the part of the digestive tract that is causing slow bowel movement than going to the hospital for an X-ray or a colonoscopy.

“If we can investigate the health of the intestine with such a small robot (…), it will be very useful for gastroenterologists who have to perform many invasive tests,” said Saransh Sharma, a researcher at Caltech University and a co-author of the study.

This will allow them to “get a lot of information needed to diagnose and propose treatment,” he explained.

The device consists of a tablet with a length of 20 millimeters and a diameter of 8 millimeters and a device that remains outside the body and emits an electromagnetic field, and depending on the distance, transmits this value to a computer or phone via Bluetooth.

This makes it possible to determine the exact location of the pill.

This was tested in pigs, whose anatomy is similar to that of humans. According to Saransh Sharma, the researchers hope to conduct human clinical trials in “a few years.”

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