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Ingestible Electronic Sensors for Monitoring Real-time Adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Antiretroviral Therapy

  • eHealth and HIV (J Stekler and D Katz, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current HIV/AIDS Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review summarizes the recent advancements and future directions of digital pill systems (DPS) — which utilize ingestible sensors to directly measure medication ingestion events in real-time — in the context of HIV prevention and treatment.

Recent Findings

Two DPS are cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration. The bioequivalence and stability of digitized pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have been established, and pilot studies have demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of using DPS for PrEP and ART adherence measurement. Important bioethical and implementation considerations have been identified for future clinical trials. Continued technological advancement may reduce barriers to use, and integration of DPS into behavioral interventions may facilitate adherence improvement efforts.

Summary

DPS represent an innovative tool for PrEP and ART adherence measurement. Future work will optimize the technology to reduce operational barriers. DPS have significant potential for expansion across a diverse array of diseases, though key bioethical considerations must be examined prior to large-scale implementation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Georgia R. Goodman, Clint Vaz & Peter R. Chai

  2. The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Georgia R. Goodman, Hannah Albrechta, Kenneth H. Mayer, Conall O’Cleirigh & Peter R. Chai

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Georgia R. Goodman & Conall O’Cleirigh

  4. Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Clint Vaz & Peter R. Chai

  5. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Edward W. Boyer

  6. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical, Boston, MA, USA

    Kenneth H. Mayer

  7. The Koch Institute for Integrated Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Peter R. Chai

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  1. Georgia R. Goodman
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Correspondence to Peter R. Chai.

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Conflict of Interest

Georgia R. Goodman, Clint Vaz, and Hannah Albrechta declare that they have no conflict of interest. Edward W. Boyer is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH; R01DA047236, K24DA037109), outside the submitted work. Kenneth H. Mayer is supported by grants from the NIH (P30AI060354) and by unrestricted research funding from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work and serves on a Scientific Advisory Board at Gilead Sciences. Conall O’Cleirigh is supported by grants from the NIH (P30AI060354), and has received personal fees from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work. Peter R. Chai is supported by grants from the NIH (K23DA044874, R43NR20289, R44DA051106), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and from Gilead Sciences, and reports equity in Biobot Analytics, outside the submitted work.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All reported studies/experiments with human or animal subjects performed by the authors have been previously published and complied with all applicable ethical standards (including the Helsinki declaration and its amendments, institutional/national research committee standards, and international/national/institutional guidelines).

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Goodman, G.R., Vaz, C., Albrechta, H. et al. Ingestible Electronic Sensors for Monitoring Real-time Adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Antiretroviral Therapy. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 19, 433–445 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-022-00625-x

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