Gastric Alimetry
Providing objective data on stomach problems
Problems affecting the stomach can cause symptoms like bloating, nausea, reflux, abdominal pain and vomiting. These symptoms are often attributed to common conditions like indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but in many cases, the underlying cause is more complex.
Patients with ongoing symptoms may undergo tests like gastroscopy or gastric emptying studies. These tests can be invasive, they require a hospital appointment and for some stomach issues they may be inconclusive. These tests may fail to detect subtle abnormalities in how the stomach functions for some patients.
Gastric Alimetry is a new, non-invasive test that offers a breakthrough in understanding how the stomach behaves. It helps clinicians assess the stomach’s electrical activity and how it responds to food, providing vital clues about motility, sensitivity, and neuromuscular function – helping gastroenterologists to get to diagnosis quicker and with more confidence.
What is Gastric Alimetry?
Gastric Alimetry is a diagnostic tool that uses “body surface gastric mapping” to evaluate how the stomach functions in real time. It is particularly useful for patients with chronic symptoms that have not been explained by standard tests.
The test involves placing a soft, adhesive patch containing electrodes onto the skin over the stomach. These sensors detect the stomach’s electrical signals. It is similar to how an ECG monitors the heart. The patient then eats a light meal, while the system records how the stomach responds over the next four hours.
This data is combined with symptom tracking via a mobile app, allowing clinicians to correlate physical activity with how the patient feels. The result is a detailed report that can help specialist doctors, like Gastroenterologists, diagnose conditions more accurately, such as:
- Functional dyspepsia – this could be caused by gut-brain axis dysfunction or linked to a microbiome imbalance, like SIBO
- Gastroparesis – a rare condition which Dr Haidry offers the G-POEM procedure for
- Post-surgical gastric dysfunction – which might be solvable with the TORe procedure
- Chronic nausea, vomiting syndromes or Rumination Syndrome – these conditions would likely not benefit by being treated with surgery or endoscopic procedures
What happens during the test?
The Gastric Alimetry test is carried out in a partner clinic and is completely non-invasive. Here is what to expect:
- Preparation: You will be asked to fast for 12 hours before the test to ensure accurate baseline readings.
- Setup: A sticky patch is placed on your abdomen. You will sit comfortably in a recliner chair.
- Baseline recording: The system records your stomach’s electrical activity for 30 minutes while empty.
- Meal challenge: You will eat a standardised light meal.
- Post-meal recording: For the next 4 hours, the system continues to monitor your stomach’s response. You will log symptoms every 15 minutes using the app.
- Aftercare: You can resume normal activities immediately after the test. Results are analysed and sent to your consultant for review.
Why choose Gastric Alimetry?
Gastric Alimetry offers several advantages over traditional tests. It is totally non-invasive (no tubes, scopes or sedation required) and links the physical response of your stomach to food (in real time) to how you feel, this is known as ‘symptom correlation).
Gastric Alimetry can identify subtle neuromuscular dysfunction and can give gastroenterologists, like Dr Rehan Haidry, objective data aiding him in giving his patients a highly accurate diagnosis. By enhancing confidence in diagnosis, Dr Haidry can provide patients with highly personalised treatment plans.
In clinical studies, Gastric Alimetry has helped specialists reclassify diagnoses and guide more effective treatments—including dietary changes, targeted therapies and endoscopic procedures, such as G-POEM for Gastroparesis patients.
Get in touch
If you have been struggling with unexplained gastric symptoms despite previous investigations, Gastric Alimetry may offer the clarity you need. Book an appointment with Dr Rehan Haidry to find out more.
Get In Touch
For any enquiries about conditions, tests or treatments, please feel free to call Dr Rehan Haidry’s medical secretary Debra Hyams on:
Tel: 0203 423 7609 | Email: rhaidrymedsec@ccf.org