Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi and the Tandon School of Engineering spearheaded the development of an ingestible device with LED light technology that could transform the way doctors examine and treat gastrointestinal disorders. While most methods of thorough gastrointestinal examination typically require intensive surgical procedures, the Ingestible Controlled Optogenetic Stimulation — created by NYU Abu Dhabi and Tandon professor Khalil Ramadi — stimulates nerve cells by delivering targeted light to the gut. The light comes via a swallowable pill, allowing experts to identify affected cells without the use of surgery or other physically invasive tools. Elsherif said that the pill’s light stimulation can reduce obesity by controlling the body’s levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, which triggers appetite. “If we modulate the cells genetically in the duodenum, then [deliver] our capsule to stimulate them, we control the hunger hormone,” Elsherif said.