We May Soon Be Swallowing Our Thermometers En Masse

Thermometers you swallow without risk of blockage may be coming. MIT engineers have built a tiny sensor about the size of a blueberry that, once ingested, tracks core body temperature from the inside. The capsule, described in Nature Electronics, beams out a reading every second using an ultra-low-power chip and a teeny antenna that bounces signals to an external receiver, keeping the internal battery small enough to avoid clogging the digestive tract, reports MIT News.

The device—far smaller than current ingestible thermometers—aims to spot infections earlier and better monitor patients under anesthesia, as well as help with fertility tracking and at-home fever checks, especially when it comes to children—"those rectal reading days could be numbered," notes Popular Science. Animal tests showed accurate readings in both anesthetized and awake subjects. Researchers now plan to add sensors for other vital signs and hope to begin human trials within a few years.