Texas Hospital First To Use 'Smart Pill' To Track Kids' Health

BOSTON (CBS) -- WBZ reported on the development of a "smart pill" last winter that allows doctors to monitor patients remotely.  Now this new technology is being used by pediatricians and parents in Texas to keep a close eye on their young patients.  Dr. Mallika Marshall explains.

Five-year-old Riley Kinman has to take medication twice a day after having a kidney transplant. The pills keep her body from rejecting the kidney she got from her dad.  But these aren't just any pills.

Each pill has a tiny sensor which activates inside Riley's stomach and transmits a signal to a patch she wears.  This technology then sends data to her doctors and parents through a tablet, alerting them she took her meds.

"If patients aren't taking their medications as prescribed or missing medication doses we know they're at higher risk for potential complication such as organ rejection or infections," explains Dr. Dev Desai, Surgical Director at Children's Health,

Children's Health in Dallas is the first hospital in the country to use the technology in kids.  Dr. Desai says the smart pills are helping them keep track of patients in ways they never could before.

"It provides heart rate monitor functions," says Dr. Desai.  "It gives us an idea of activity and sleep cycles."

Riley's parents hope the technology will also give Riley her independence.

"Right now we're in charge but 10 to 15 years from now I'll know exactly when she took her medicine and I don't have to nag her about it," says Riley's mother, Nicole Kinman,

Children's Health plans to use the smart pill technology on about 75 children.