Swallowing with a gulp makes your stomach 'vibrate'... 'Diet Capsule' that suppresses appetite through vibrations

MIT Researchers Develop Smart Pill
Causes Vibrations in Stomach When Taken Before Meals

A special diet capsule that suppresses appetite through vibration has been developed, attracting attention.

Recently, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States developed a capsule (smart pill) that vibrates while staying in the stomach to suppress appetite.

If this capsule is taken with water before a meal, it enters the stomach and works to suppress appetite. The research team conducted experiments on pigs, and the results showed an average 40% reduction in food intake.

[Image source=Pixabay]

The researchers hypothesized that artificially vibrating the mechanoreceptors could induce a feeling of fullness and conducted experiments to verify this.

When a large amount of food is consumed, a signal indicating stomach expansion is sent to the brain by special cells called "mechanoreceptors." When the brain receives this signal, it triggers the secretion of various hormones such as insulin, which make the person feel full and stop eating.

Based on this principle, the official name of the capsule is "Vibrating Ingestible Bio Electronic Stimulator," abbreviated as "VIBES."

Diet smart capsule that suppresses appetite by generating vibrations from above
[Image source=Science Advances capture]

The researchers designed the capsule's vibration to create a sensation as if the stomach were stretched. The capsule is a vibrating stimulator about the size of a vitamin pill, containing a silver oxide battery inside. When the capsule enters the stomach, the acidic gastric juice dissolves the gelatin coating on the outside of the capsule, activating the internal vibration motor for about 38 minutes. Afterward, the capsule is expelled from the body.

The researchers administered the pill to pigs 20 minutes before meals. This not only stimulated the release of hormones indicating fullness but also resulted in a 40% reduction in food intake afterward. No signs of side effects were observed while the pill was in the pigs' digestive systems, and it was harmlessly expelled within 4 to 5 days.

The research team stated, "This device works effectively in the stomach and induces satiety," adding, "This technology has the potential to revolutionize treatment options for obese patients. We will closely examine whether it is safe for humans and how it affects body weight in the future."

The research results were published at the end of last month in the international academic journal Science Advances.

If this pill is commercialized, its price is expected to be under $1 (about 1,300 KRW). This is very affordable compared to obesity treatments such as Wegovy. The price of Wegovy, a diet injection recently praised by Elon Musk for its effectiveness, is about 2 million KRW per month in the United States, and other treatments like Ozempic and Saxenda cost about 500,000 to 1,000,000 KRW per month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.