Collaborative Research: Autonomous Smart Capsule for Targeted Drug Delivery in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This project addresses a critical health challenge affecting millions of patients: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Current treatments often rely on systemic therapies that can cause unwanted side effects and fail to deliver medication precisely where it is needed. The proposed solution is a fully integrated wireless smart capsule which represents a transformative leap in how IBD and other gastrointestinal diseases are managed. By enabling real-time monitoring and targeted therapy, the capsule promises to improve treatment outcomes, reduce adverse effects, and enhance patient adherence to treatment. Its minimally invasive design offers a comfortable, non-invasive alternative to injections or endoscopic procedures, making it more accessible and patient-friendly. Beyond direct health benefits, the project is poised to reduce healthcare costs associated with chronic disease management and drive innovation across multiple fields, including materials science, microelectronics, robotics, and biomedical engineering. The integration of research with educational and outreach activities will enrich STEM education, fostering a new generation of skilled professionals capable of advancing medical device technology. By leveraging the expertise and infrastructure at University of Texas at Austin and California Institute of Technology, the project will engage students from K-12 to graduate levels, ensuring broad societal impacts and supporting the development of a workforce ready to tackle future healthcare challenges. The research of this project aims to develop a novel, clinically translatable smart capsule platform for closed-loop precision therapy of IBD, advancing knowledge in biosensing, robotics, wireless systems, and integrated medical devices. The capsule will integrate real-time biosensing, autonomous actuation, targeted nanorobotic drug delivery, and wireless electronic control. The approach is structured around three specific aims: (1) developing electrochemical sensors and chemotactic nanorobots for disease-responsive drug delivery, (2) designing a wireless electronic system for real-time sensing and actuation, and (3) integrating the full system into an ingestible capsule and validating it in vivo using colitis rat models. Key innovations include auto-navigated chemotactic nanorobots for stable, targeted drug delivery, electrochemical sensors for closed-loop actuation based on real-time lactate levels, low-power application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) semiconductor chips for device miniaturization and multimodal functionality, and a scalable inductive link for robust wireless power delivery. The platform offers a non-invasive alternative to existing treatment approaches, improving patient comfort and compliance. This project represents a paradigm shift in IBD management from reactive, systemic treatment to proactive, localized, and intelligent therapy. Furthermore, its modular design allows adaptation to other GI diseases by altering sensing targets and therapeutic payloads, broadening its potential clinical applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.