An implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker or implantable
cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), is configured to automatically detect
ingestion of medications to verify that prescribed medications are taken
in a timely manner and at the correct dosage. Briefly, individual pills
are provided with miniature radio frequency identification (RFID) devices
capable of transmitting RFID tag signals, which identify the medication
contained within the pill and its dosage. The implanted device is
equipped with an RFID transceiver for receiving tag signals from a pill
as it is being ingested. The implanted system decodes the tag to identify
the medication and its dosage, then accesses an onboard database to
verify that the medication being ingested was in fact prescribed to the
patient and to verify that the correct dosage was taken. Warning signals
are generated if the wrong medication or the wrong dosage was taken.
Therapy may also be automatically adjusted. Non-RF-based ID devices are
also described, which instead transmit ID data via biphasic current
pulses.