Researchers at the University of Maryland have created "Smart Underwear." This is the first wearable device made to measure human flatulence. It uses a small sensor to track hydrogen in gas. This helps scientists re-examine old ideas about how often people pass gas. The technology also offers a new way to see how gut microbes work in daily life.
For years, doctors had few ways to help patients with intestinal gas issues. Gastroenterologist Michael Levitt noted this problem in 2000. He said it was "virtually impossible" for doctors to prove excessive gas with current tests.
Smart Underwear Tracks Intestinal Gas
To solve this, a team led by Brantley Hall, a professor at UMD, developed Smart Underwear. It's a small device that clips onto regular underwear. It has sensors that constantly check intestinal gas production day and night.
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Start Your News DetoxA study in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X used this device. Led by UMD scientist Santiago Botasini, it measured flatulence in healthy adults. Participants passed gas an average of 32 times per day. This is about twice the 14 daily events often cited in older medical papers. However, results varied greatly. Some people passed gas only four times a day, while others did so up to 59 times.
Older estimates were likely lower because past studies used invasive methods or relied on self-reporting. Both methods can miss events, depend on faulty memory, and can't record gas while someone sleeps. Also, people feel gas differently, even if they produce similar amounts.
Hall, the study's senior author, said, "Objective measurement gives us an opportunity to increase scientific rigor in an area that's been difficult to study."
Tracking Gut Microbes Through Hydrogen Gas
Most people's gas is mainly hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Some also produce methane. Hydrogen comes only from microbes in the gut. So, measuring hydrogen in gas constantly shows how active these microbes are as they break down food.
Hall compared it to a continuous glucose monitor, but for intestinal gas. He explained that the device found more hydrogen production after people ate inulin, a fiber. The sensor detected these increases with 94.7% accuracy.
Human Flatus Atlas Aims to Define Normal
Scientists have set normal ranges for many health measures, like blood sugar. But for flatulence, there's no widely accepted baseline.
Hall noted, "We don't actually know what normal flatus production looks like." He added that without a baseline, it's hard to know when someone's gas is truly too much.
To fix this, Hall's lab is starting a big project called the Human Flatus Atlas. It will use Smart Underwear to measure flatulence patterns in hundreds of people. It will also look at their diets and gut microbes. Devices will be sent to volunteers, allowing adults across the U.S. to join from home. The goal is to find the normal range of gas production for U.S. adults over 18.
Studying Different Types of Gut Gas Producers
Researchers are looking for volunteers who fit certain categories found in early research. This helps them capture all the variations.
- Zen Digesters are people who eat a lot of fiber (25-38 grams daily) but produce very little gas. Studying them might show how gut microbes adapt to high-fiber diets.
- Hydrogen Hyperproducers are people who pass gas often. Studying this group might reveal what causes high gas production.
- Normal People fall between these two groups.
The team will collect stool samples from Zen Digesters and Hydrogen Hyperproducers. This will help them understand the microbes behind these differences.
Hall said, "We've learned a tremendous amount about which microbes live in the gut, but less about what they're actually doing at any given moment." He believes the Human Flatus Atlas will set clear baselines for gut microbial activity. This is key for seeing how diet, probiotics, or prebiotics change the microbiome.
How to Join the Human Flatus Atlas Study
People interested in joining can find more information at flatus.info. Adults 18 and older in the U.S. can enroll. Participants will get a Smart Underwear device and wear it day and night during the study. Enrollment is limited.
Brantley Hall and Santiago Botasini are listed as inventors on patent applications for the technology. They are also co-founders of Ventoscity LLC, which has licensed the device.
This research received support from the University of Maryland, the Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase I, and the UM Ventures Medical Device Development Fund.
