title: Swallowable smart pills for local drug delivery: present status and future perspectives.
abstract: Smart pills were originally developed for diagnosis; however, they are increasingly being applied to therapy - more specifically drug delivery. In addition to smart drug delivery systems, current research is also looking into localization systems for reaching the target areas, novel locomotion mechanisms and positioning systems. Focusing on the major application fields of such devices, this article reviews smart pills developed for local drug delivery. The review begins with the analysis of the medical needs and socio-economic benefits associated with the use of such devices and moves onto the discussion of the main implemented technological solutions with special attention given to locomotion systems, drug delivery systems and power supply. Finally, desired technical features of a fully autonomous robotic capsule for local drug delivery are defined and future research trends are highlighted.
authors.affiliation: a Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Biomedical Robotics and Biomicrosystems Lab, Via alvaro del portillo 21, Roma, 00128, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goffredo
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Accoto
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guglielmelli
mesh_terms: D002214:Capsules / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003679:Deglutition; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000639:trends*; D065546:Drug Liberation; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D013686:Telemetry
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules
keywords: active locomotion; gastrointestinal tract treatment; local drug delivery; smart pill; swallowable robotic capsule