# Ingestible Electronic Devices for Non-Invasive Vagal Stimulation

> **NIH NIH R21** · CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $125,594

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
There are approximately 25 million Americans that suffer from Type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, about 35 million
Americans >20 years old are diagnosed with prediabetes. More than one-third of Americans are also obese,
an incidence that has nearly tripled from 1960 to 2010. Recent studies have shown that the gut-brain axis
places a critical role in digestive and metabolic diseases. Further, direct communication between the sensory
neurons in the gut and neural reward circuits in the brain plays a crucial role in detecting chemical cues such
as hormones, satiety signals, or small molecule metabolites produced by bacteria in the gut. Chemicals in the
small intestine are detected by specialized epithelial cells that transduce chemical signals into neuronal activity
that can be interpreted by the central nervous system. An ingestible device that supersedes chemical cues and
stimulates sensory neurons directly using electronic pulses could mimic the chemical milieu in the gut that is
associated with healthy metabolic and digestive states. Spatiotemporal control of intraluminal sensory nerve
stimulation in the gut could with help us understand the link between chemical signaling in the digestive system
and neural circuits in the brain that are modulated by the gut-brain axis. Here we propose an ingestible
electronic device with flexible electrodes that can pace sensory nerve activity in the gut of a pig model.
Physiological responses will be measured, and brain activity will be monitored using fMRI. Initially, this project
will validate this proof-of-concept using tethered electrodes in porcine subjects. Specifically, sensory neurons
in the gut will be paced using biomimetic waveforms that will simulate fed or fasted states in porcine subjects
while brain activity will be measured simultaneously using fMRI. These results will help us understand the
connection between gustatory signaling, sensory nerve activity, and neural reward circuits in the brain such as
satiety. In the future, we will design a fully autonomous smart pill with an on-board power supply and circuitry
that selectively and non-invasively stimulate or block the activity of sensory neurons in the gut of human
subjects. If successfully, this smart pill could serve as a low-risk device-based approach to help understand
and potentially treat digestive and metabolic disorders of the gut-brain axis such as obesity and diabetes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10354518
- **Project number:** 1R21EB032519-01
- **Recipient organization:** CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth C Dickey
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $125,594
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10354518

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10354518, Ingestible Electronic Devices for Non-Invasive Vagal Stimulation (1R21EB032519-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10354518. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*