How a vibrating pill could be the latest treatment for obesity

The oral capsule developed by engineers at MIT is about the size of a multivitamin and is powered by a small silver oxide battery.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are shaking things up in the world of obesity treatments: They’ve developed an ingestible capsule that vibrates inside the stomach.

The vibrations from the pill, named the Vibrating Ingestible BioElectronic Stimulator (VIBES), create an illusion of being full by activating the same brain receptors your stomach sends signals to when it is stretched, according to the engineers. 

The oral capsule is about the size of a multivitamin and is powered by a small silver oxide battery. Once it is swallowed and it reaches the stomach, acidic gastric fluids dissolve a gelatinous membrane that covers the capsule, completing the electronic circuit that activates the vibrating motor inside. 

MIT said the current version of the pill is designed to vibrate for about 30 minutes after it reaches the stomach, but the researchers plan to explore the possibility of adapting it to remain in the stomach for longer periods, where it could be turned on and off wirelessly as needed. 

“For somebody who wants to lose weight or control their appetite, it could be taken before each meal,” said Dr. Shriya Srinivasan, an MIT graduate who is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University. “This could be really interesting in that it would provide an option that could minimize the side effects that we see with the other pharmacological treatments out there.”