BehindTheMedspeak: Jonah™ - world's first ingestible thermometer

From Mini Mitter in Bend, Oregon, comes Jonah™, a pill-sized, swallowable thermometer able to accurately measure body core temperature.

It transmits readings wirelessly to a handheld you can wear in a waist pack or carry in your pocket: transmission range is about 40".

Jonah™ (small purple capsule above), made of medical-grade plastic, weighs 1.6 grams and measures 8.7 mm diameter x 23 mm long (that's a little less than an inch).

Once activated and swallowed, transmission of temperature data begins immediately.

Mean transit time for Jonah™ is 2.0 ± 1.5 days, with a range in most cases of one to five days - depending.

While originally intended for military and sports use, the capsule may find wide application in hospitals.

Sure beats a thermometer up the wazoo.

[via Wired magazine]