Background: Disorders of gastric function are highly prevalent, but diagnosis often remains symptom-based and inconclusive. Body surface gastric mapping is an emerging diagnostic solution, but current approaches lack scalability and are cumbersome and clinically impractical. We present a novel scalable system for non-invasively mapping gastric electrophysiology in high-resolution (HR) at the body surface.
Methods:The system comprises a custom-designed stretchable high-resolution "peel-and-stick" sensor array (8 × 8 pre-gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes at 2 cm spacing; area 225 cm 2 ), wearable data logger with custom electronics incorporating bioamplifier chips, accelerometer and Bluetooth synchronized in real-time to an App with cloud connectivity. Automated algorithms filter and extract HR biomarkers including propagation (phase) mapping. The system was tested in a cohort of 24 healthy subjects to define reliability and characterize features of normal gastric activity (30 m fasting, standardized meal, and 4 h postprandial).Key Results: Gastric mapping was successfully achieved non-invasively in all cases (16 male; 8 female; aged 20-73 years; BMI 24.2 ± 3.5). In all subjects, gastric electrophysiology and meal responses were successfully captured and quantified non-invasively (mean frequency 2.9 ± 0.3 cycles per minute; peak amplitude at mean 60 m postprandially with return to baseline in <4 h). Spatiotemporal mapping showed regular and consistent wave activity of mean direction 182.7° ± 73 (74.7% antegrade, 7.8% retrograde, 17.5% indeterminate).
Conclusions and Inferences:BSGM is a new diagnostic tool for assessing gastric function that is scalable and ready for clinical applications, offering several biomarkers that are improved or new to gastroenterology practice.
Disorders of gastric function are highly prevalent, but diagnosis often remains symptom-based and inconclusive. Body surface gastric mapping is an emerging diagnostic solution, but current approaches lack scalability and are cumbersome and clinically impractical. We present a novel scalable system for non-invasively mapping gastric electrophysiology in high-resolution (HR) at the body-surface. The system comprises a custom-designed flexible HR sensor array and portable data-logger synchronized to an App, with automated analysis and visualization algorithms. The novel system underwent performance testing then validation in 24 healthy subjects. In all subjects, gastric electrophysiology and meal responses were successfully captured and mapped non-invasively (mean frequency 2.9 ± 0.3 cycles per minute; peak amplitude at mean 60 m postprandially with return to baseline in <4 h). Spatiotemporal mapping showed regular and consistent wave activity of mean direction 182.7°±73 (74.7% antegrade, 7.8% retrograde, 17.5% indeterminate). The presented system is a new diagnostic tool for assessing gastric function that is scalable, validated, and ready for clinical applications, offering several biomarkers that are new to gastroenterology practice.
Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastroduodenal disorder, yet its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Bioelectrical gastric slowwave abnormalities are thought to contribute to its multifactorial pathophysiology. Electrogastrography (EGG) has been used to record gastric electrical activity; however, the clinical associations require further evaluation.Aims: This study aimed to systematically assess the clinical associations of EGG in FD.Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were systematically searched for articles using EGG in adults with FD. Primary outcomes were percentage normal versus abnormal rhythm (bradygastria, normogastria, and tachygastria). Secondary outcomes were dominant power, dominant frequency, percentage coupling, and the meal responses.Results: 1751 FD patients and 555 controls from 47 studies were included. FD patients spent less time in normogastria while fasted (SMD −0.74; 95%CI −1.22 to −0.25) and postprandially (−0.86; 95%CI −1.35 to −0.37) compared with controls. FD patients also spent more fasted time in bradygastria (0.63; 95%CI 0.33-0.93) and tachygastria (0.45; 95%CI 0.12-0.78%). The power ratio (−0.17; 95%CI −0.83-0.48) and dominant frequency meal-response ratio (0.06; 95%CI −0.08-0.21) were not significantly different to controls. Correlations between EGG metrics and the presence and timing of FD symptoms were inconsistent. EGG methodologies were diverse and variably applied.
Conclusion:Abnormal gastric slow-wave rhythms are a consistent abnormality present in FD, as defined by EGG and, therefore, likely play a role in pathophysiology. The aberrant electrophysiology identified in FD warrants further investigation, including into underlying mechanisms, associated spatial patterns, and symptom correlations.
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