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What Is A SmartPill?
The SmartPill is a small capsule that your gastroenterologist uses to monitor PH, pressure, transit time, and temperature throughout your entire GI tract. The small capsule is ingestible, similar to a pill, and the information is wirelessly transmitted to a data receiver worn on a belt or lanyard. Monitoring PH and pressure will allow your gastroenterologist to evaluate motility disorders such as: nausea, bloating, acid reflux, constipation, gastric emptying time, colonic transit time, whole gut transit time, pressure patterns and gastroparesis.
The SmartPill is able to provide a complete transit profile of your entire gastrointestinal tract with just one test, and has the ability to localize diseases to a specific part of the GI tract.
What Should I Do to Prepare for the SmartPill Test?
You will be asked to fast prior to your test and may be asked to stop taking certain medications. Talk to your doctor about any medications you are taking, and specific instructions for you.
What Will the SmartPill Test Look Like?
The office visit will usually take about 30 minutes. When you get into your appointment, you will be given a small meal called the Smart Bar to eat, then you will ingest the capsule with sips of water.
Following the appointment, you will be instructed not to eat anything for a given amount of time (usually about 6 hours), and only take small sips of water for the same amount of time. Discuss these instructions with your doctor, and follow them carefully.
The pill is usually passed within a few days, and is a single-use, disposable pill. You will be instructed to return the data recorder to the office following passing your SmartPill.
Is the SmartPill Test Safe?
The SmartPill test is very safe, and complications are uncommon. The largest potential risk of the SmartPill test is the SmartPill lodging somewhere in the digestive tract. You will likely be advised against this test if you have a history of strictures in your GI tract, IBD (like Crohn’s Disease), or a pacemaker.
The SmartPill moves through your digestive system normally, and should not cause any pain or discomfort.
Speak to your doctor about any concerns you may have about the SmartPill test.