Orally ingestible medical devices for gut engineering

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Gastroenterology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Gastrointestinal (GI) tract conditions require innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions.
• Current treatments face challenges in targeted delivery and real-time monitoring within the GI tract.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of recent advancements in orally ingestible medical devices.
• To discuss their applications in drug delivery, imaging, and sensing within the GI tract.
• To examine challenges, design considerations, and regulatory aspects for future development.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on orally ingestible medical devices.
• Analysis of device designs, functionalities (drug delivery, imaging, sensing), and actuation modalities.
• Examination of material-device interactions and pharmacological responses.

Main Results:

• Orally ingestible devices, from micro- to macroscale, offer site-directed drug delivery (including biologics) and real-time gut biomarker sensing.
• Innovative designs like uni-direction release, self-propulsion, and origami enhance device capabilities.
• On-board microelectronics facilitate comprehensive imaging and sensing of gut tissue and biomarkers.

Conclusions:

• Orally ingestible medical devices represent a significant advancement in GI diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Addressing challenges in the gut microenvironment and optimizing device-device interactions are crucial for clinical translation.
• A clear roadmap considering materials, design, pharmacology, and regulations is essential for future progress.