An ingestible bacterial-electronic system to monitor gastrointestinal health

TLDR

Biomolecular monitoring in the gastrointestinal tract could offer rapid, precise disease detection and management but is impeded by access to the remote and complex environment. The authors present an ingestible micro‑bio‑electronic device (IMBED) that uses resilient biosensor bacteria and miniaturized luminescence electronics to wirelessly transmit data, and its modular design allows integration of additional biosensors. In swine, heme‑sensitive probiotic biosensors accurately diagnosed gastrointestinal bleeding, and the platform’s modularity suggests it could enable biomarker discovery and transform disease management.

Abstract

Biomolecular monitoring in the gastrointestinal tract could offer rapid, precise disease detection and management but is impeded by access to the remote and complex environment. Here, we present an ingestible micro-bio-electronic device (IMBED) for in situ biomolecular detection based on environmentally resilient biosensor bacteria and miniaturized luminescence readout electronics that wirelessly communicate with an external device. As a proof of concept, we engineer heme-sensitive probiotic biosensors and demonstrate accurate diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding in swine. Additionally, we integrate alternative biosensors to demonstrate modularity and extensibility of the detection platform. IMBEDs enable new opportunities for gastrointestinal biomarker discovery and could transform the management and diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease.