Introduction

A few years back, The FDA approved a pill for ingestion which, encased in it, contains a video camera attached to its microcircuit. This battery-operated device videos its descent into the stomach and through the small intestine as it is swallowed.  The tiny camera videos areas of the small intestine unreachable by endoscopy or colonoscopy.  This video is transmitted wirelessly for viewing external to the body. 

The micro-miniature reed switch plays a key role in this pill.  These pills, after manufacturing, may sit in inventory and later in a hospital stocking area for many months.  The pill’s battery life is only a few hours.  The designers have developed a solution to this by using the micro-miniature reed switch in conjunction with a magnet.  In the shipping container, each slot has a magnet dedicated to each pill, and the battery is not yet activated.  Once the pill is removed from the proximity of the magnet, the micro-miniature reed switch opens and activates the battery, in turn applying power to the circuitry and video system.  Because of these pills, many previously un-diagnosable digestive tract issues have been able to be discovered and treated.

Full application write-up: MEMS Reed Sensor Used In Camera Pill