Stomach and colon problems are difficult to treat. The tests are annoying and take time, and there’s never a simple way to tell someone that they have to get a colonoscopy. With this in mind, scientists from RMIT and Monash University decided to come up with a new and simple way to understand how our digestive tracts work. Their research manifested in the shape of a fart tracking pill.
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While this pill sounds like the invention of a 12-year-old who loves fart jokes, ARStechnica reports that the results of the trials have been positive, and that the mechanisms of the pill are very complex. This electronic capsule monitors gas levels in your gut, and is used with the help of a small receiver and a mobile phone app. These mechanisms report what’s going on in your body in real time, as the pill travels from your stomach, to your colon, until the body finally gets rid of it.
The data acquired could help doctors clarify the conditions within each segment of your gut, what every component is doing, and which foods are the ones that get your stomach going, so to speak.
Initially developed in pigs, this pill is currently undergoing human trials, and has been tested in six healthy people. Each trial was different, with some users consuming high fiber diets and with others consuming low fiber diets. Depending on what they were eating, the pill took more or less time to leave the body.
Experts agree that this pill could change the future of stomach and colon health, helping us understand how our gut works and eliminating invasive and annoying medical tests.
“It might not be too long before a routine healthcare visit involves a check of your vital signs and a request to swallow a tiny electronic monitoring device.”
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