Jennifer Matthews: Mildred Sheeron doesn't take eating for granted.
Mildred Sheeron: It was horrible. I mean, you would eat just anything and you would throw up for hours.
Jennifer Matthews: Mildred has gastroparesis, a delayed empyting of the stomach. It can cause nausea, vomiting, and bloating.
Henry Parkman: Some of these patients can't even get out of the house because of their problems. Often, these patients are losing weight because they can't eat the proper nutrition.
Jennifer Matthews: Treatment is available, but diagnosing the disorder can sometimes take months of testing. Now, there may be a better way to detect the disorder, the smart pill.
Henry Parkman: So, when one swallows this, it goes through the entire GI tract, measuring pH or the acid level and also contractions, or the contractions that propel things through the GI tract.
Jennifer Matthews: The pill mimics indigestible food traveling through the body. The pill sends signals to a receiver. Doctors download data to see where the problems are. Diagnosis and treatment both happen within a few days.
Mildred says a quick diagnosis like this would have saved her a lot of agony and frustration. But she's on medication and feeling better than ever.
Mildred Sheeron: I don't wake up sick in the morning. I don't wake up that I can't deal with the day, I can't deal with my kids, I can't deal with life alone. So it's 100 percent better, 100 percent.
Jennifer Matthews: Doctors say the smart pill could soon detect other gastrointestinal disorders as well. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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