London, November 20 : Electronics company Philips has invented a remote-controlled pill which has a cavity for carrying a medicine, and which can be opened by a remote signal.

The passage of the pill can be tracked with the help of MRI or ultrasound. As soon as the pill reaches the appropriate location, the medicine in it can be released through an electronic trigger.

The company hopes to make the pills cheap enough to be disposable so that they do not require recollecting and recycling after use, reports New Scientist magazine.

Currently, pharmacists use various mechanisms to control the release of drugs from a pill. Many times the pills have a coating that is designed to be dissolved in a particular part of the digestive tract or after a certain amount of time.

However, this does not always work since the rate of passage through the body can vary, and some individuals have higher levels of digestive enzymes than others.

Philips’ invention is expected to solve this problem. (ANI)