A new wireless monitoring system uses RFID to detect esophageal reflux

Now, a wireless monitoring system will use electrical impulses to track esophageal reflux. UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors and UT Arlington engineers have developed a wireless monitoring system, which uses electrical impulses to track esophageal reflux.

Researchers have combined the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), with another emerging applied science, named impedance monitoring, which tracks reflux through electrical impulses. The new system includes a small, flexible RFID chip to the esophagus, where it would be removed by a physician. The size of chip is around two square centimeters, which will test electrical impulses that signal acidic or nonacidic liquids moving through the esophagus. Then it will transmit data to a wireless sensor worn around the neck.

RFID system is not required for the catheter, so doctors are hopeful that the system will easily follow normal eating, drinking and activity patterns. The system includes the PillCam, a small pill-sized wireless camera, which takes photos as it goes through the digestive tract, and Bravo capsule, another wireless system that detects esophageal acids. The sensor will detect the stomach acid, gas and water, so that doctors can determine whether the presence of those substances coincides with feelings of heartburn, the start of eating or other activities.

Dr. Shou Jiang Tang, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern, said,

We always want to come up with something that improves what we do on a daily basis. The procedure is very uncomfortable and because of the catheter, you can’t eat or drink the way you normally would. The test results can be biased because you change the way you eat.

Image Credit: Apptech

Via: Medical News today