Got Gas? There ’s a Fart-Tracking Pill for That
Researchers from RMIT University in Australia just completed human trials on a new swallowable sensor that could help uncover mechanisms in the human gut that have never been seen or studied before. The capsule-size sensor could offer researchers insight into how gases are oxidized in the stomach, revealing new information on how foreign compounds are broken down in the stomach.
The ingestible technology is roughly the size of a vitamin and was designed to detect and measure gut gases like hydrogen, carbon dioxides, and oxygen in the stomach. That data can then be sent to a mobile phone or computer where researchers have begun to study and understand how the human gut uses these gases to break down and conquer foreign compounds, like a gastric immune mechanism.
Another new finding from the human trials was the revelation that the colon may contain oxygen, an observation that directly contradicts the long-held belief that the colon is always an oxygen-free environment. The discovery could lead to an enhanced understanding of how debilitating diseases like colon cancer occur.
The recent trials involved seven healthy people who were placed on both low and high fiber diets. The study showed the sensor could accurately detail the onset of food fermentation, revealing the device's potential to be used to clinically monitor digestion and the signs of normal gut health.
For years, researchers have had to rely on fecal samples and surgery to collect and analyze various microbes fr...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Kristopher Sturgis Tags: R & D Electronics Source Type: news
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