Once the electrical signal is produced, the sensor communicates its unique identifier code to a wearable patch on the patient informing them that the pill has been digested.
An additional smartphone app can then send reminders to patients if they haven't taken their meds on time, and with patient permission, the information can be uploaded to their doctor.
Missing medication might seem trivial, but medical nonadherence is an expensive problem. A US study estimated that taking medications properly could result in a 10 per cent reduction in healthcare costs.
In New Zealand those estimates add up to over $1 billion of savings a year from patients having fewer heart attacks, developing fewer diabetes complications and reducing the number of asthma-related emergency department visits by taking their preventative medications correctly.
A reduction in these extra hospitalisations and ongoing complications can result in significantly reduced healthcare costs over the long term.
Most of us don't neglect our health intentionally, and a survey of 10,000 patients found the most common reported reason for not taking medication was due to forgetfulness.
The journal Experimental Aging Research showed that age plays an interesting role in how we forget. In one of their research studies patients aged 18 to 20 remembered to take their medications on days that they were busier than normal, whereas patients aged 60-89 remembered their medications on days they were less busy than normal.
These opposing results imply that any medication memory triggers designed to help us to remember to take our pills would need to be tailored for different age groups to be effective.
Digital pills are not just for medical purposes though; a patent titled Travel Environment Control was filed last year by airline British Airways and includes a section on digital pills for its travellers.
The scope of the patent was to use the pill to detect the internal temperature, stomach acidity and other internal properties of a traveller to help the airline to tailor the perfect food and environmental conditions for individual travellers. My guess is that it will only be for those on the pointy end of the plane, but it could help to keep travellers hydrated and happy on board.
Regardless of what digital pills will be used for, the use of technology to create more personalised solutions is here.
The one-pill-fits-all scenario will soon be replaced with a tech-savvy pill that can help to determine the exact amounts of medication, nutrients or vitamins that your body needs.
The ability for your doctor to monitor your internal health may soon be as easy as them switching on their smartphone.
In the meantime, in case you were wondering, these tech-savvy pills still have to go through the traditional pathway of being digested and eliminated in the same way as everything else we swallow.
Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nanogirl, is an Auckland University nanotechnologist who is passionate about getting Kiwis hooked on science. Tweet her your science questions @medickinson
