Tag Archives: Peter R. Gibson

Do you really want to swallow a ‘smart pill’ to measure intestinal gas or anything else?

Caption: Smart gas sensing pills developed at RMIT University can measure intestinal gases inside the gut and send the data directly to a mobile phone. Credit: RMIT University

Caption: Smart gas sensing pills developed at RMIT University can measure intestinal gases inside the gut and send the data directly to a mobile phone.
Credit: RMIT University

Researchers at RMIT University (Australia) have tested a ‘smart pill’ (or sensor/wireless transmitter) on animals according to a Jan. 12, 2016 news item on ScienceDaily,

Researchers have conducted the first ever trials of smart pills that can measure intestinal gases inside the body, with surprising results revealing some unexpected ways that fiber affects the gut.

Intestinal gases have been linked to colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but their role in health is poorly understood and there is currently no easy and reliable tool for detecting them inside the gut.

The first animal trials of smart gas sensing pills developed at Australia’s RMIT University — which can send data from inside the gut directly to a mobile phone — have examined the impact of low and high-fibre diets on intestinal gases and offer new clues for the development of treatments for gut disorders.

Lead investigator Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, from the Centre for Advanced Electronics and Sensors at RMIT, said the results reversed current assumptions about the effect of fibre on the gut.

A Jan. 12, 2016 RMIT University news release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, expands on the theme,

“We found a low-fibre diet produced four times more hydrogen in the small intestine than a high-fibre diet,” Kalantar-zadeh said.

“This was a complete surprise because hydrogen is produced through fermentation, so we naturally expected more fibre would equal more of this fermentation gas.

“The smart pills allow us to identify precisely where the gases are produced and help us understand the microbial activity in these areas – it’s the first step in demolishing the myths of food effects on our body and replacing those myths with hard facts.

“We hope this technology will in future enable researchers to design personalised diets or drugs that can efficiently target problem areas in the gut, to help the millions of people worldwide that are affected by digestive disorders and diseases.”

The trials revealed different levels of fibre in a diet affected both how much gas was produced and where it was concentrated in the gut – in the stomach, small intestine or large intestine.

The smart pills were trialled on two groups of pigs – whose digestive systems are similar to humans – fed high and low-fibre diets. The results indicate the technology could help doctors differentiate gut disorders such as IBS, showing:

  • high-fibre diets produce more methane gas in the large intestine than the low-fibre diet, suggesting that painful gut gas retention could be avoided by cutting back on high-fibre food
  • low-fibre diets produced four times more hydrogen gas in the small intestine than high-fibre, indicating a high-fibre regimen could be better for patients with IBS caused by bacterial overgrowth in small intestine
  • the ratio of carbon dioxide and methane gases remained the same in the large intestine for both diets, suggesting that neither diet would be helpful for people suffering IBS diseases associated with excess methane concentration

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Intestinal Gas Capsules: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration by Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, Chu K. Yao, Kyle J. Berean, Nam Ha, Jian Zhen Ou, Stephanie A. Ward, Naresh Pillai, Julian Hill, Jeremy J. Cottrell, Frank R. Dunshea, Chris McSweeney, Jane G. Muir, and  Peter R. Gibson. Gastroenterology January 2016Volume 150, Issue 1, Pages 37–39 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2015.07.072

This article appears to be open access.

Getting back to my question, will people be willing to swallow these things? The study indicates that four pigs, in total, were tested and killed afterwards. The ‘smart pill’ measurements were compared to others made with standard technologies to assure researchers the new technology was viable. This particular study seems to have served as a proof of concept rather than an in-depth analysis of intestinal gases. As to whether or not anyone will ever be asked to swallow one of these ‘smart pills’ (sensor/wireless transmitter), the scientists did not share any plans for human clinical trials. I guess one of the big questions would be, what happens to the pill (stay in your gut or expelled) once you’ve gotten your measurements?