Smart medicines that tell doctors when patients have taken them moved a step closer after a company developing the first “digital pill” had its drug application accepted by US regulators.

While there is no guarantee of approval, the hope is that the pill, produced by Proteus Digital Health, will help ensure that patients stick to their prescriptions and so reduce spending on drugs that are not taken properly.

It could be especially useful for people with mental illnesses and memory disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s where compliance is particularly poor. The development shows how technology is opening up frontiers in medical science. Digital health groups attracted $2.8bn of investment in the first half of this year, on top of a record $6.9bn in 2014, according to Start-upHealth, a research company that tracks the sector.