Bodycap e-Celsius

Wearable health tech is making in-roads in all areas including monitoring the core temperature of human bodies. e-Celsius Performance is a connected pill that tracks the core temperature of the wearer, and it is now available.

The pill is made by the French company BodyCap. Similar to a device already in use in hospitals and other clinical settings, it monitors body temperature every 30 seconds and sends measurements wirelessly to an external monitor, eViewer Performance. This will display an alert when temperatures go outside a preset range. The ingestible device is made up of a sealed biomedical PVC shell, a temperature sensor, batteries, memory, an antenna, and a resin filling. Memory can hold 200 readings, but it’s unclear how to access that memory after the pill passes through the body — presumably via RF without bodily interference.  e-Celsius Performance allows continuous monitoring of the body’s core temperature for risk reduction for people in extreme situations, such as elite athletes or workers in harsh environments. During exercise in a hot environment, thermal stress is amplified by the body’s temperature and the environment’s humidity. The saturation of the body’s heat removal systems can quickly cause hyperthermia to levels that may cause nausea, fainting or death. The pill monitors the level of hyperthermia reached and maintained during practice or competition among athletes. It can also help determine the incidence of problems related to heat. The data captured from the pill can help athletes develop new strategies to better prepare for competition in extreme conditions.

Each pill is 17.7 mm by 8.9 mm and weighs 1.7 grams. The battery is good for 30 days, and the radio’s range is about 1 meter. A monitor can track up to three pills at a time. BodyCap plans to sell the device to organizations for elite sports such as soccer, tennis, beach-volleyball and swimming.