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Professor Eric Diller of the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has received a Connaught Innovation Award for his team’s work on a non-invasive way to sample the gut microbiome – using a tiny magnetic capsule.

When swallowed by a patient, the capsule – about the size of a vitamin pill – slowly works its way through the digestive system. When it gets to the desired point, it can be activated by holding a large magnet over the abdomen.

“The magnet opens a trap-door on the capsule, which then closes to tightly seal the sample inside,” says Diller. “The capsule can then be recovered from the stool and sent to a lab for analysis.”

Diller and his team will use the Connaught funding to create an even smaller capsule that is easier to swallow, as well as to develop a way to track the capsule and enable samples to be taken at a more precise location.

“Tracking will be done using a vest of magnetic field sensors worn by the patient, as well as with ultrasound,” he says. “Along with project co-investigator John Parkinson at SickKids, we have already developed a prototype which we tested in animals, and we found that we could indeed collect samples with our non-invasive method.”