Medimetrics and NIZO unveil 'breakthrough' in microbiome sampling. A new non-invasive method to test the effects of functional foods and nutrients on the gut flora promises to help industry build solid evidence for health claims substantiation, says NIZO Food Research.
The Dutch research organisation has joined forces with biotech firm Medimetrics to develop a new way to analyse gut physiology using micro-electronic capsules. Using their intelligent capsule technology, the firms suggest that it will be possible to take samples in vivo, at targeted locations, in a non-invasive way, away from a clinical research setting. The IntelliCap system produced by Medimetrics is an orally administered, wirelessly controlled, electronic capsule system that was pioneered for the targeted delivery of drugs. Working with NIZO, the firm has now developed the technology to be able to take samples from the small intestine - thus offering promise in the substantiation of health claims related to functional foods in the gut.
Collaboration. Non-invasive gut health testing breakthrough. Health and functional claims made for foods such as probiotics still need to prove their effectiveness ― an important part of the answer rests in our small intestines and their role in digestion, and immunity.
NIZO food research and biotech pioneer Medimetrics are bringing this a step nearer, using the latest micro-electronics. They have joined forces to create a means of sampling and mapping content from the small intestine to identify its microbiological composition, in a non-invasive way. The mapping process will provide novel insights into how certain foods and ingredients might react in our gut and so affect our health.
Using the IntelliCap system, an intelligent capsule developed by Medimetrics (a company pioneered by Philips and now based in The Netherlands, Germany and the USA), it will be possible to take samples in vivo, at targeted locations, in a non-invasive way and, importantly, away from a clinical setting. The small intestine is critical to health. Source: Medimetrics. IntelliCap - personalizable drug delivery. Challenge: Personalizable oral drug delivery has the potential to improve the therapeutic effects of existing drugs and to reduce side effects.
It could even enable new types of drugs that can be delivered exactly to the required place in the body. Solution: IntelliCap’s developers turned to Philips Innovation Services for support from idea to initial small scale production in several areas: design and development of the capsule, the portable unit worn by the trial subject and the PC-based control center. But developing such drugs takes time. The compact, easy to swallow capsule has built-in intelligence, pH and temperature sensors, and wireless connectivity, as well as the drug delivery system.
How Philips Innovation Services helped 1. The IntelliCap requires the drug delivery system, sensors, and RF connectivity to be fitted into a small capsule (11 x 26 mm) with onboard intelligence and power. 2. 3. Medical devices must meet rigorous standards and be affordable. Project highlight. Home - Medimetrics. How IntelliCap Puts Complete, Real-Time Control of Drug Delivery in Your Hands.
By Vicki Ronaldson The CRS Annual Meeting & Exposition in National Harbor, MD, U.S.A., in 2011 saw technology service providers Medimetrics present to the pharmaceutical community for the first time their ground-breaking electronic drug-delivery technology.
The Philips spin-off, with offices in New York and Eindhoven, The Netherlands, presented data on their proprietary IntelliCap system, the most advanced wireless capsule available for candidate screening. This was followed by CE certification of the device and presentation at the AAPS annual meeting and exposition in Washington, DC, where the launch of IntelliCap as a clinical research tool attracted a great deal of attention. 2012 saw Medimetrics return to the CRS Annual Meeting, this time as sponsors and with a view to securing commercial partners and end users. Q What end applications did you have in mind when designing IntelliCap? Q Briefly, how does the system work?
A IntelliCap is a system based on a swallowed electronic capsule.