University of California Researchers have developed a wearable system to monitor stomach activity that performs as well as current state of the art methods but can be used outside of a clinical setting.
The system also comes with an app that allows patients to log their meals, sleep and other activities.
This non-invasive system to monitor electrical activity in the stomach over 24 hours—essentially an electrocardiogram but for the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.
Applications include monitoring GI activity for patients outside of a clinical setting, which cuts down costs. Monitoring for longer periods of time also increases the likelihood of capturing abnormal events.
The team tested the device, a 3D printed portable box connected to 10 small wearable electrodes, on 11 children and one adult volunteer.
They found that data collected with the wearable system were comparable to data collected in the clinic with state-of-the-art methods, which are invasive–including a catheter inserted through the patient’s nose.
They also found that the stomach’s electrical activity changes not only around meals, but also during sleep, following its own circadian rhythm.
The device itself uses off-the-shelf electrodes used in electrocardiograms. The electronics and battery are encased in a 3D printed box and connected to the electrodes, which fit on a person’s abdomen just over the stomach.
The system is currently paired with a smart phone app that allows patients to log their meals, sleep and other activities. The long-term goal is to design an app that would allow patients and physicians to see the data collected by the device in real time.
News Source: http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=2508
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