Medicine of the future! Wearable helps people with digestive problems

Wearable technologies, as wearables are known, are increasingly becoming a health ally. Now researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed technology for people with stomach problems. Wearable is able to measure electrical activity in the stomach for 24 hours, helping people with digestive problems determine if treatments or diets are really working.

The device, which still requires clinical validation, uses a technology called electrogastrography (EGG), which picks up electrical signals that travel through the stomach muscles to control gastric contractions. The method under test has the function of finding out if the waves originating in the stomach cells oscillate at three cycles per minute.

The device consists of a portable case, printed in 3D, connected to ten electrodes that fit the abdomen. The system is paired with an app that allows patients to record daily activities such as meals and sleep so that monitoring outside the clinical setting is possible, reducing health care costs and increasing the chances of capturing stomach abnormalities.

"We believe our system will trigger a new type of drug, where a gastroenterologist can quickly see where and when a part of the gastrointestinal tract is showing abnormal rhythms and, as a result, make more accurate, rapid and personalized diagnoses, " explains the researcher first. study author, Armen Gharibans.

The team tested the device with a pediatric gastroenterologist at Rady Children's Hospital - a total of 11 children with chronic stomach problems, aged 7 to 17 years. The research found that data collected by the system were comparable to invasive clinical data previously made to monitor gastrointestinal activity.

The device could help treat patients with diabetes and Parkinson's, as gastrointestinal problems are common symptoms of these diseases. It can also be used to monitor athletes and pregnant women suffering from heartburn and other problems.

Medicine of the future! Wearable helps people with digestive problems via TecMundo