Imagine swallowing a pill that could monitor your gut health, track your emotions, and even predict neurological conditions—all without invasive procedures. Sounds like science fiction? For Dr Yasser Khan, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), this is the future of precision health.
Dr Khan, who grew up in Chittagong and studied at the University of Texas, Dallas, before completing his PhD at UC Berkeley and postdoc at Stanford, is leading groundbreaking research in AI-enabled medical devices. His latest innovation? A GPS-like ingestible smart pill that could revolutionise how we understand the gut-brain connection.
The pill, which is smaller than the FDA-approved maximum size for ingestible devices, is equipped with sensors to track everything from gastritis markers to neurochemicals linked to emotions and neurodegenerative diseases.
"The gut, often called the 'second brain', houses around 100 million neurons. While this pales in comparison to the brain's 85 billion neurons, the gut plays a crucial role in our emotions and overall health," says Dr Khan. His smart pill, about the size of a pencil lead or a couple of rice grains, is designed to be swallowed and travel through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, measuring gases, chemicals, and neural activity along the way.
"The gut-brain axis is incredibly powerful," he explains. "By measuring activity in the gut, we can predict what's happening in the brain. This could be a game-changer for diagnosing and treating neurological conditions without invasive procedures like brain implants."
The pill, which is smaller than the FDA-approved maximum size for ingestible devices, is designed to pass through the body naturally. It's equipped with sensors to track everything from gastritis markers to neurochemicals linked to emotions and neurodegenerative diseases. A wearable coil worn on the stomach creates a magnetic field, allowing the pill's location to be tracked in real-time via a mobile app.
While the technology is still in its early stages, the results so far are promising. Dr Khan's team has successfully tested the pill in benchtop experiments and is now moving to animal trials. "We're currently testing on rat models, measuring both brain and gut activity," he says. "If all goes well, we hope to begin human trials within the next five years."
The potential applications are vast. The pill could help diagnose conditions like gastric cancer, monitor mental health, and even deliver targeted drug treatments. And the best part? Dr Khan is committed to making the technology affordable, with versions of the pill potentially costing as little as $10.
Dr Khan's work is driven by a passion for making cutting-edge medical technology accessible to all, including people in developing countries like Bangladesh. "We're designing different versions of the pill," he explains. "A basic model for tracking gastritis could cost just a few thousand taka, while more advanced versions for clinical use would be more expensive."
His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Dr Khan was recently awarded the prestigious Packard Fellowship, an early-career award that recognises groundbreaking research. "This is the biggest honour of my life," he says. "The Packard Foundation only supports work that has the potential to transform a field, and I'm thrilled they see the value in what we're doing." Many notable scientists and researchers, including David Baker, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient, are on the list of Packard Fellows.
Dr Khan also has other notable awards to his name, including the 2025 Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, the 2024 Packard Fellowship, and the 2023 Google Research Award.
Figure: 3D gas mapping in the gut with AI-enabled ingestible and wearable electronics.
The smart pill is just one of several projects underway in Dr Khan's lab. His team is also developing wearable devices that can track mental states by measuring chemicals like cortisol in sweat. These devices, which resemble a bandaid, could help manage conditions like depression and bipolar disorder.
"We want to create a new generation of wearable tech that can track mood, and help us understand mental health better," Dr Khan says. He shared that the wearable project is currently being developed in collaboration with the US National Institute of Health (NIH), where roughly 100 people are working to take it to the next stage.
Another of Dr Khan's projects focuses on brain implants that measure neurochemicals, offering insights into conditions like epilepsy. "Most brain implants measure neural activity, but we're looking at the chemicals that regulate that activity," Dr Khan explains. "It's like going one step deeper."
Dr Khan joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California as an Assistant Professor in 2022. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas and his M.S. from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Saudi Arabia. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, before conducting postdoctoral research in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University.
Dr Khan's career path from Bangladesh to leading a research lab at USC highlights an inspiring professional journey. "I left Bangladesh in 2008," he shares, "but I hope this technology can one day benefit people back home, where access to affordable healthcare is so critical."
With his team of 24 researchers from around the world, including three PhD students from Bangladesh and multiple graduates from all over the world, Dr Khan is attempting to push the boundaries of what's possible in medical technology. And while the road to commercialisation is long, the potential impact is immense.
"In five years, I hope you'll be able to walk into a pharmacy, buy a smart pill, and get a full health diagnostic without ever stepping into a hospital," he says. "That's the future we're working towards."
For now, the world watches—and waits—as Dr Yasser Khan and his team continue to turn science fiction into achievable reality.
