Prototype pill offers non-invasive alternative to weight loss

Researchers in Singapore, led by Prof Louis Phee, Dean of Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, and Prof Lawrence Ho, a clinician-innovator at National University Health System, have developed a weight-control pill that is self-inflated from inside the stomach with a handheld magnet, and could offer a non-invasive alternative to tackle obesity.
The EndoPil has an outer gelatine casing that contains a deflated balloon that can be inflated to 120ml in three minutes and be deflated to a size small enough to enter the small intestines, and an inflation valve with a magnet attached. An inner capsule contains a harmless acid and a salt, stored in separate compartments. Stomach acid breaks open the gelatine casing, and the magnet attached to the inflation valve is attracted by an external handheld magnet, which opens it, thus controlling exactly when the device is inflated. Once the valve is open, the acid and the salt mix can react to produce carbon dioxide that fills the balloon which then floats to the top of the stomach.
Prof Phee said, “EndoPil’s main advantage is its simplicity of administration. All you would need is a glass of water to help it go down and a magnet to activate it. We are now trying to reduce the size of the prototype and improve it with a natural decompression mechanism. We anticipate that such features will help the capsule gain widespread acceptance and benefit patients with obesity and metabolic diseases.”