Technology
Proteus Biomedical’s ingestible and implantable technologies are the foundation for the development of the company’s intelligent medical products.

The company’s ingestible technology makes intelligent pharmaceuticals possible: microchip-enabled medications that provide patients with valuable information to customize their therapy. The company’s implantable ChipSkin™ technology adds intelligence to any implanted medical device: tiny active electronics that expand the performance of devices that use electrical energy to deliver therapy inside the body.

Ingestible Technology
Proteus ingestible event markers (IEMs) are tiny, digestible sensors made from food ingredients, which are activated by stomach fluids after swallowing. Once activated, the IEM sends an ultra low-power, private, digital signal through the body to a microelectronic receiver that is either a small bandage style skin patch or a tiny device insert under the skin. The receiver date- and time-stamps, decodes, and records information such as the type of drug, the dose, and the place of manufacture, as well as measures and reports physiologic measures such as heart rate, activity, and respiratory rate.

The IEM is manufactured on silicon wafers, and is extremely economical to produce, costing a few cents per sensor in large quantities.

The IEM is the cornerstone of the company’s Raisin™ System, which is currently in clinical development. The Raisin™ System measures the body’s response to medications and is intended to improve the management of chronic diseases like heart failure, infectious disease and psychiatric disorders.

Implantable Technology
One of the significant challenges preventing widespread use of implanted medical device therapies is the disintegration of active electronics upon exposure to body fluids. Proteus’ ChipSkin™ technology eliminates this issue by providing an extremely thin and durable protective layer that ensures long-term survival and performance of micro-scale implanted devices. ChipSkin enables any implanted medical device to contain active electronics and dramatically expands the capability of existing implanted devices that utilize electrical energy to stimulate, pace or regulate body function. For example, providing 32 locations to pace the left side of the heart instead of only two or four, improving the clinical efficacy of cardiac resynchronization therapy.

ChipSkin technology is the cornerstone of the company’s therapeutic device products, which are currently in clinical development. These intelligent implanted devices offer the potential to transform therapy for patients with heart failure, chronic pain, and other disorders.