Scientists have tested a wirelessly controlled microchip that is designed to be implanted into a patient's body and programmed to deliver drugs.
An early version of the implant has been trialled on seven women with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, with the results published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The implant was used to deliver 20 individually sealed doses of an osteoporosis drug called teriparatide (parathyroid hormone).
Results show the device delivered dosages that were comparable to regular injections, with patients experiencing no adverse side-effects and many forgetting the implants were there.
Commenting on the advance, Professor Robert Langer, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said: 'You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip.
'You can do remote control delivery, you can do pulsatile drug delivery, and you can deliver multiple drugs.'
Julia Thomson, from the National Osteoporosis Society, described the findings as 'exciting'.
She observed: 'The downside with parathyroid hormone has always been that women have to inject themselves on a daily basis, so a new implant like this would certainly address compliance issues.'