Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG is developing a pill containing an embedded microchip, which it hopes to submit for regulatory approval in Europe within 18 months.

The chip is activated by stomach acid and transmits information to a patch attached to the patient’s skin, which then sends it on to a doctor via the Internet or a smartphone.

The first application of the chip-in-a-pill — or as it is officially known, the Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) — is expected to be for transplant patients, to help avoid organ rejection.

A common problem that occurs after transplant operations is  the dose and timing of taking anti-rejection drugs have to be monitored and frequently adjusted to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ, such as a kidney.

The microchip would overcome this problem since it would closely monitor the patients to determine if the drugs are being taken at the right time, and in the correct dosage.