An In-Vivo Communication System for Monitoring Medication Adherence

In this paper, we present the design and performance of an in-vivo communication system, which forms the core component of a novel digital health feedback offering used for monitoring medication adherence. The communication system is comprised of an ingestible sensor embedded inside medication and a patch receiver worn on the skin of the patient. The ingestible sensor activates upon coming in contact with gastric fluids and communicates information about the ingested drug to the patch receiver. Adherence patterns and other physiologic markers measured by the system are made available to patients, physicians, and caregivers via mobile and web interfaces. The paper specifically focuses on the protocol governing the communication link between the ingestible sensor and the patch, as well as the design and implementation of efficient, high-performance signal processing algorithms implemented on a low-power platform. Results from bench testing with simulated signals, as well as aggregated results from multiple clinical studies (detection accuracy of 98.78% measured over 4420 ingestions) are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the communication system.