People who suffer from chronic constipation often turn to laxatives to get things moving again, but sometimes even that won’t do the trick. [A] new type of pill takes a completely different approach to this human plumbing problem, by physically stimulating the bowel from within to get some action going.

The tiny pill doesn’t contain any medicine, but does have a tiny electric motor that makes the entire capsule vibrate. The patient swallows the pill, which then starts to vibrate about six to eight hours later.

By this time, the pill will have gone past the stomach and entered the intestines, where the vibrations stimulate the intestinal walls to begin contractions.

Via DVICE.