Scientists have developed smart underwear designed to track the frequency of flatulence, in a first-of-its-kind breakthrough that could revolutionize the way we study gut health, researchers say.
Scientists have developed smart underwear designed to track the frequency of flatulence, in a first-of-its-kind breakthrough that could revolutionize the way we study gut health, researchers say.
This portable device, which is discreetly attached to underwear, continuously monitors intestinal gas production by detecting hydrogen released during flatulence. Researchers say the technology is the first practical and non-invasive way to measure intestinal gas 24/7.
Until now, studies of flatulence have relied largely on self-reports from patients, which researchers say are unreliable because participants often forget or miscount the amount of gas they pass. Previous direct measurement methods involved using rectal tubes to collect gas, but these were inconvenient and impractical for long-term monitoring.
The new device tracks hydrogen, one of the main gases released during flatulence. Farts typically contain hydrogen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and some people also produce methane. Because hydrogen is produced exclusively by gut microbes, the researchers say measuring it provides a direct signal of microbial fermentation in the digestive system.
«Objective measurement gives us the opportunity to increase scientific accuracy in a field that has been difficult to study,» said researcher Brantley Hall of the University of Maryland.
Nineteen participants wore the smart underwear during daily activities for seven days to test the device’s comfort and reliability of continuous monitoring. They were able to wear the device for over 11 hours per day with high levels of compliance.
Another 38 participants took part in a controlled diet experiment to determine whether the device was able to record changes in gas production depending on the food consumed.
Overall, the researchers found that healthy adults passed gas an average of 32 times per day. This is more than double the 14 daily events typically reported in medical literature. Individual results varied widely, ranging from four to 59 events per day.
«Think of it as a continuous glucose monitor, but for intestinal gas,» Hall compared.
Researchers say there is currently no established baseline for what is considered a normal level of flatulence, unlike indicators such as blood glucose or cholesterol levels.
«We don’t really know what normal gas production looks like. Without that baseline, it’s hard to know when someone is truly producing excessive gas,» the researcher noted.
The team plans to expand the research with a larger project called the Human Gas Atlas, which will track flatulence patterns in hundreds of participants and correlate the results with diet and microbiome composition.
