Researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have developed an electronic pill that senses the chemical composition of the gases inside the GI tract and relays the information wirelessly to an external receiver. The device was tested on pigs who were put through different diets to see how the pill recognizes the effects of eating lots or little dietary fiber.
Because one can tell the region of the GI tract that the pill is in, the gasses detected can be evaluated with greater understanding of the local environment. This is something new because there’s lots of misconception about what really goes on inside the gut, and this pill may help answer many interesting questions.
One already surprising finding from the study is that unlike what was expected, a high fiber diet actually produces lower levels of hydrogen than a low fiber diet. Hydrogen being a product of fermentation, additional fiber was thought to cause additional fermentation that would lead to high hydrogen concentration. No one actually looked since monitoring gases deep inside the body is quite difficult, but the new pill has already reversed the long held assumption.
Study in journal Gastroenterology: Intestinal Gas Capsules: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration…
Source: RMIT University…