This Smart Pill Will Soon Replace Insulin Shots For Diabetic Patients

The number of people who have diabetes around the world is hitting millions. What happens to their bodies is that they can either properly produce or process insulin. Therefore, they need to inject freeze-dried insulin shots into their bodies regularly. But MIT researchers say they have found a better solution with SOMA, a high-tech smart pill.

The name is a reference of a drug in the novel Brave New World of Aldous Huxley. It is also an acronym of “Self-Orienting Millimeter-Scale Applicator.”

With this drug, patients can take it instead of the regular insulin shot. Once it is inside their stomach, it will annually release doses of insulin through integrated needles.

In a statement, Robert Langer, a professor at MIT and the study’s senior author, said:

The shape of the pill took inspiration from the shell of the leopard tortoise so that the tablet can stay upright all the time. This is important since the pill needs to be in contact with the stomach lining.

Inside the pill is the exact same kind of insulin used in insulin infection kits, except that it is in a compressed form. It takes about around one hour for the dose of insulin to be released completely. After that, the pill will move through the digestive tract safely.

The pill has been tested on pigs, which has generated positive results. If successfully developed, the pill will be a breakthrough for the medical field.

Maria José Alonso, biopharmaceutics and pharmaceutical technology professor at University of Santiago de Compostela said: