A wearable hydrogel-based electrogastrography and ultrasound system for non-invasive gastric monitoring and modulation

Background

Gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders, such as gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia, are characterized by abnormal gastric electrical rhythms and impaired muscular contractions, leading to symptoms like nausea, bloating, and delayed gastric emptying. The underlying mechanisms of these disorders remain poorly understood. Non-invasive monitoring and modulation of gastric activity are crucial for both clinical management and advancing research in gut-brain neuroscience. Traditional diagnostic tools, such as electrogastrography (EGG) or implanted gastric electrical stimulators (GES), provide a window into gastric slow-wave activity, but their clinical utility is limited in quality due to technical challenges or are too invasive. These limitations hinder both effective therapy and the ability to conduct mechanistic studies of gut-brain coupling. There is a pressing need for technologies that can reliably monitor and modulate gastric rhythms in real time, without requiring invasive procedures.

Technology description

This technology is a wearable system that seamlessly integrates EGG and focused ultrasound (FUS) to enable non-invasive, real-time monitoring and modulation of gastric activity. At its core is a multilayer sweat-adaptive hydrogel electrode, engineered from a poly(AMPS-SBMA) network reinforced with AMPS microgels. This hydrogel provides stable, low-impedance skin contact and pH-responsive adhesion, ensuring reliable performance even under sweat. The hydrogel’s multilayer structure selectively damps low-frequency noise while preserving the crucial gastric slow-wave signals, enabling high-fidelity EGG recordings. The system also incorporates a miniaturized, self-focusing FUS transducer, allowing for depth-selective gastric pacing. Together, these features support simultaneous, artifact-resistant EGG recording and FUS neuromodulation, facilitating advanced studies and therapies for gut-brain interactions and gastrointestinal motility disorders. The system’s ability to deliver non-invasive, depth-specific FUS stimulation eliminates the need for surgical interventions like implanted gastric stimulators, while its robust signal quality and artifact suppression enable precise, real-time assessment and modulation of gastric rhythms. Human studies demonstrate that the platform not only captures stable gastric signals during daily activities but also effectively modulates gastric activity and enhances gut-brain coupling, marking a significant leap forward in wearable bioelectronic medicine for gastrointestinal health.

Benefits

Non-invasive, real-time monitoring and modulation of gastric electrical activity and gut-brain interactions
Sweat-adaptive multilayer hydrogel electrodes
High-fidelity EGG signal acquisition with minimal artifacts
Depth-selective, miniaturized FUS transducer enabling precise gastric neuromodulation
Wearable, flexible, and breathable design suitable for long-term use
Improved gut-to-brain communication through synchronized sensing and stimulation
Eliminates need for invasive surgical implants
Robust electrochemical stability and high biocompatibility

Commercial Applications

Non-invasive gastric motility disorder therapy
Real-time gut-brain interaction research
Wearable gastrointestinal diagnostics
Personalized neuromodulation for GI diseases
Longitudinal monitoring of gastric rhythms

Opportunity

This patent is available for exclusive licensing.

This wearable platform integrates electrogastrography (EGG) with focused ultrasound (FUS) for non-invasive gastric monitoring and modulation. It features a sweat-adaptive hydrogel electrode for stable, low-impedance skin contact and noise damping, alongside a miniaturized FUS transducer for depth-selective gastric pacing. The system enables simultaneous, high-fidelity EGG recording and neuromodulation, facilitating real-time assessment and alteration of gastric rhythms and gut-brain coupling.