A Long Term Remote Intragastric pH, Temperature, Motility and Electrical Activity Monitoring System

Abstract

The system under development can monitor intragastric physiological changes over time periods exceeding fourteen days. Prior to this development, long term intragastric measurements were impossible in freely mobile subjects. The electronic instrumentation includes a tethered sensor capsule, automatic titration unit, telemetry system, and data display. The system requires minimal maintenance during the prolonged monitoring period. The sensor capsule utilizes a pH sensitive glass electrode with wet reference, a thermistor, a solid state pressure sensitive transducer, and impedance matching electronics which develop the physically related electrical signals. Signal acquisition is via tether hardline to the multichannel telemetry unit and subsequent RF transmission to a central data receiving system for display and storage. Automatic titration functions, a myograph to record voluntary muscle movement, and the measurement of skin resistance as an indicator of stress, may also be included in the telemetry data. Capsule system tests in vitro indicate these accuracies: ± 0.2 pH units over a range of 1 to 10 pH; ± 0.2°C over a temperature range of 25°C to 45°C; and ± 10% over a pressure range of 0 to 15 inches of water. Life tests of the capsule in vitro show useful life times of the order of 30 days. Preliminary human in vivo experiments have confirmed the capsule sensitivity and stability.