WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US regulators have approved the first pill that contains a digital tracking sensor to alert doctors and caregivers as to whether a patient is taking a medication as scheduled.

The pill, called Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets with sensor), is designed for patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

A patient ingests the pill, and a sensor inside the pill activates when it reaches the stomach fluids, sending a message to a wearable patch.

This patch then transmits the information to a mobile app, so that a doctor and up to four caregivers, friends or family members can see the information through a web-based portal.

“Being able to track ingestion of medications prescribed for mental illness may be useful for some patients,” said Mitchell Mathis, director of the division of psychiatry products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a statement Monday afternoon.

“The FDA supports the development and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how technology might benefit patients and prescribers.”

Although the sensor can alert caregivers, the makers of Abilify, Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical, said it is unclear whether the tracking device will actually help improve patients’ ability to take their medication daily as prescribed.

The FDA approved Abilify in 2002 to treat schizophrenia, which affects about one per cent of the US population.

The ingestible sensor used in Abilify MyCite was first allowed on the market by the FDA in 2012.

The sensor technology and patch are made by Proteus Digital Health, and are approved for use with existing medications in the United States and Europe.

But until now, the FDA had not approved a sensor-pill combination.