Smart pills that tell patients and their  doctors if medication is being taken properly are to go on sale in  Britain.

Patients take their drugs along with an extra tablet embedded with a  tiny edible sensor which sends back information to a receiver in the form of a  patch worn on the shoulder or arm.

This tracks when the drugs were taken and the dose, as well as  monitoring heart rate and body temperature. It also alerts a patient to when the  next dose is due and records whether the patient is sleeping well or taking  enough exercise.

The information is downloaded to a computer or smartphone which can be  accessed by the patient and their doctor. 

Older patients, in particular, may need to remember to take five or  more different pills at a time, three times a day, for problems such as heart  disease and diabetes.

Around half of patients do not take their medication properly, meaning  they are not getting the full benefit.

Under the Helius system of smart pills, they would get the five drugs  they need each time in a blister pack. The pack would also include the Helius  tablet embedded with a sensor the size of a grain of rice.

This is made from food ingredients that react with stomach fluids to  power a digital signal for around five minutes which sends information to the  shoulder patch about what pills have been taken and when.

The information is then downloaded for the patient and doctor to check  that the medication is being taken correctly. The estimated cost to the NHS of  unused medication is thought to be almost £400million a year.

High street chain Lloyds-pharmacy has signed a deal with U.S.-based  digital healthcare provider Proteus Biomedical to bring the system to Britain.  Patients will be able to buy it privately for around £50 a month from September.

However Nick Pickles, of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘This technology has massive potential benefits for healthcare, but it should  not be adopted at the expense of patient privacy.

‘Patients taking this medication, and their families, should be aware  that they are doing so and be able to see a full breakdown of what data is  captured and who it is accessed by.’

Steve Gray, healthcare services director of Lloydspharmacy, said: ‘Anyone taking several medications knows how easy it can be to lose track of  whether or not you’ve taken the correct tablets that day.

‘Add to that complex health issues and families caring for loved ones  who may not live with them and you can appreciate the benefits of an information  service that helps patients get the most from their treatments and for families  to help them remain well.’

Chip and pill trials have been carried out in the past but it is  thought this is the first time it has been made available to consumers to  buy.

“More intervention by the drugs companies at our expense. Carefully  planned to help us ‘prepare’ for what they have in store for us – microchips in  everybody so that certain governments can not only track us but programme us at  the same time. Do NOT think these devices are designed for our health alone.  Mind and body control is what is being planned – all controlled through our  computers, mobile phones and TV sets. The US is already designing remote ‘illness-enhancers’ via the increasing number of invisible elector-magnetic  waves (more money for the drug companies), our food and arable land is being  contaminated daily to induce illness and NO drug company seriously wants us to  remain healthy! Only a return to natural living, natural food and a far more  natural lifestyle (i.e. not constantly in front of computers) will enable human  beings to regain their health. Health is not gained, only ‘managed’, by taking  an ever-increasing number of chemically-constituted pills!”