The first animal trials of smart gas-sensing pills—which send data from inside the gut directly to a mobile phone—reportedly are paying dividends, with test results reversing some widely held assumptions about the effect of fiber on the gut.

The smart pills, which measure intestinal gases inside the body, were trialed on two groups of pigs—whose digestive systems are similar to humans—that were fed high- and low-fiber diets. Intestinal gases have been linked to colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease. But their role in health is poorly understood and there traditionally has been no easy and reliable tool for detecting them inside the gut.

RMIT's smart gas-sensing pill sends data from inside the gut directly to a mobile phone. Image credit: RMIT.“We found a low-fiber diet produced four times more hydrogen in the small intestine than a high-fiber diet,” says lead investigator Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, from RMIT's Center for Advanced Electronics and Sensors, which is advancing the technique. “This was a complete surprise because hydrogen is produced through fermentation, so we naturally expected more fiber would equal more of this fermentation gas."

Kalantar-zadeh says the smart pills allowed for the identification of the precise locations where the gases are produced and helped shed light on microbial activity in these areas.

The tests indicate the technology can help doctors differentiate gut disorders such as IBS and reveal:

• High-fiber diets produced more methane gas in the large intestine than low-fiber diets, suggesting that painful gut gas retention can be avoided by cutting back on high-fiber foods.
• Low-fiber diets produced more hydrogen gas in the small intestine than did high fiber diets, indicating a high-fiber regimen could be better for patients with IBS caused by bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.
• The ratio of carbon dioxide to methane gas 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.

“We hope this technology will in future enable researchers to design personalized 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,” Kalantar-zadeh says.