The goings on deep inside our guts are still very much shrouded in mystery. The mystery arises partially from the fact that it’s hard to sample the gasses that exist inside our bowels. Much of our knowledge about the gaseous content of the GI system really comes from stool samples and when the guts are surgically accessed. A new electronic pill is now allowing scientists to study the contents of the gut like never before, providing detailed data about the gasses inside the guts previously impossible to gather.
Developed at RMIT University and trialed by a team at Monash University, both in Australia, the pill is able to continuously monitor the presence of hydrogen, carbon dioxides, and oxygen as it travels from one end of the GI system to the other. The device has already undergone an initial in-human study, which involved seven individuals placed on low and high fiber diets.
Thanks to the pill, the scientists conducting the study discovered at least a couple facts that were previously unknown. For one, the pill was able to detect the presence of oxidising chemicals secreted by the stomach that seem to fight the presence of foreign bodies. The researchers consider that this may be an entirely unique immune system of its own that we’ve been relying on without knowing that it even exists. The other new fact that was discovered is that the colon does at times contain high oxygen concentrations, as long as the person eats a high fiber diet. Previously, it was thought that the colon doesn’t normally have any oxygen within it. Combined, the two new pieces of information may help understand the formation of colon cancer and other diseases. Moreover, the pill was used to detect fermentation taking place, a normal process that can now be actively monitored to make sure that food is being properly broken down.
A new company, called Atmo Biosciences, has now been founded to commercialize the electronic pill dubbed the Atmo Gas Capsule. Phase II clinical trials will still have to be conducted to prove the technology as being useful for diagnosing and monitoring specific conditions.
Study in Nature Electronics: A human pilot trial of ingestible electronic capsules capable of sensing different gases in the gut…
Link: Atmo Biosciences…
Via: RMIT University…