Chip monitors your body from the inside

A special chip-filled pill was used by Prof Maria Hopman, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, to monitor the reactions of the human body to the exertion of walking during the 91st International Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

The reactions of the human body (men and women) before, during and after running a marathon or in a triathlon have already been analysed and calculated. However, the response of the human body to a multiple-day walking event under diverse meteorological conditions has never been accurately determined, which is why Hopman initiated the plan.

The body temperature was measured during the walking event by means of a chip inserted into a pill. The pill is about 1.5 cm long and has a diameter of 0.6 cm. It has an outer silicone coat and an inner epoxy shell. Inside this are communication coils, printed circuits and electronic components on ceramic substrates, a temperature sensing crystal and a battery.

The volunteers swallowed the chip-filled pill, which eventually leaves the body in a natural way, after staying in the body for approximately 30 hours. The chip does not interfere with the body at all because of its silicon coating.

The chip does not hold any data. It wirelessly transmits core body temperature as it travels through the digestive tract.

The sensor's signal passes through the body to the receiver worn on the belt of the volunteer. The receiver wirelessly picks up the signal from the sensor and converts the signal into digital format; it then displays temperature in real time and stores data for download and later analysis. The data is then sent to the main computer, which stores the data of all the volunteers.

It has further applications in fire fighting, research and medicine, agriculture, food production and safety, occupational safety and military.

During the study, 60 participants of different ages were followed. All physiological data of the 60 volunteers was followed meticulously and compared to the weather conditions as measured by weather expert Jules Geirnaerdt.