Healthy adults pass gas an average of 32 times per day, according to a new study utilizing a wearable device designed to measure human flatulence, more than double the 14 (±6) previously reported in medical literature.
Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) developed “Smart Underwear,” a device that snaps onto garments and uses chemical sensors to track intestinal gas, particularly hydrogen, produced by microorganisms in the gut. The findings, published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X, represent a significant step toward objectively quantifying normal flatulence production, a challenge that has long frustrated physicians.
“We don’t actually know what normal flatus production looks like,” said Brantley Hall, an assistant professor at UMD and co-creator of the technology, in a statement. “Without that baseline, it’s hard to know when someone’s gas production is truly excessive.” Hall has applied for patents related to the technology and is co-founder of a company that has licensed it.
The Smart Underwear isn’t actual underwear, but a wearable device employing electrochemical sensors to monitor intestinal gas production continuously. The study, which kicked off a new nationwide effort to understand human flatulence, revealed substantial individual variation, with daily gas expulsion ranging from four to 59 times.
For decades, medical professionals have struggled to objectively assess patient complaints related to intestinal gas. As gastroenterologist Michael Levitt wrote in 2000, “It is virtually impossible for the physician to objectively document the existence of excessive gas using currently available tests.” The UMD team’s device aims to address this longstanding diagnostic gap.
The device tracks hydrogen in flatus, providing insight into gut microbial metabolism. Typically, farts consist of microbe-derived hydrogen and, occasionally, methane, along with carbon dioxide and oxygen produced by the body. The research is currently being conducted as an observational study to quantify typical flatulence frequency in healthy adults, normalized by fiber intake, according to information on ClinicalTrials.gov.
The Smart Underwear project builds on previous work by Hall and his colleagues to develop technology for monitoring intestinal gases. The team is continuing to analyze data collected from the ongoing nationwide study.
