Morpheus asks, “‘Do you want to know what it is?’ ‘The Matrix is everywhere; it is all around us, even now in this very room'” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a digital ingestible tracking system that records when the medication is taken.  My immediate thought projects to Morpheus and Neo in front of a fireplace with no fire-the frigid room.  Before a signal is connected, Neo chooses the truth and ingests the red pill.  Neo’s journey is more egregious than expected, and he banishes any notion of super human abilities. FDA’s announcement is another moon jump for humanity as it traces Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets with sensor).  This is the first drug of its kind in the U.S., treating schizophrenia, acute treatment of mania, mixed episodes of bipolar disorders and as an add-on treatment for depression.  The ingestible sensor in Abilify MyCite was permitted for marketing in 2012. The sensor is connected to an external patch, which sends data to a mobile application or web based portal.  The mobile application and web based portal are vulnerable to cyber attacks- not impossible.  All legal and illicit drugs are absorbed, metabolized and excreted, having known half-lives.  A drug’s half-life is the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the plasma or the total amount in the body to be reduced by 50%. Are there uses other than pill intake? Perhaps, in drug rehab programs, a tracking pill determines the amount of illicit drugs in the body. Enzyme immunoassay methodologies screen for a particular drug or drug class.

^{Resources:
Kight, S. “FDA approves the first digital pill.” 14 November 2017, Axios.com, https//www.axios.com/fda-approves-the-first-digital-pill-2509381530.html?utm_source=sidebar. Accessed 15 November 2017.
Pharmacy Times. “Digital Tracking Pill, Expanded Indication for Schizophrenia Treatments Win FDA Approvals.” 13 November 2017, PharmacyTimes.com, http//www.pharmacytimes.com/product-news/fda-approves-cariprazine-for-maintenance-treatment-of-schizophrenia. Accessed 13 November 2017.
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Stuart, H. “Pill-Tracking Device Could Monitor Whether You’re Taking Your Medication.” 24 January 2013, The Huffington Post, https//www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/pill-tracking-device_n_2535466.html. Accessed 23 November 2017.
Swittholf. Faces watching. 29 March 2015. Flickr. https//www.flickr.com/photos/switthoft/17058714377/. Accessed 09 November 2017.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA approves pill with sensor that digitally tracks if patients have ingested their medication. FDA. 13 November 2017.}