The gas-sensing capsule, when swallowed, can electronically report important data about the human gastrointestinal system by detecting gases in real-time from known locations within the gut and using these biomarkers for diagnosis, resulting in targeted treatment, earlier relief of symptoms and reduced healthcare costs.
The ingestible capsule offers a potential diagnostic tool for many disorders of the gut from motility disorders, IBS and IBD to liver disease.
The Atmo Gas Capsule is currently an investigational device exclusively for use in clinical investigations, and is not available for sale.
Gut disorders are one of the most common ailments in the world affecting tens of millions of people.
These disorders include motility abnormalities, SIBO, IBS and IBD. Gases are important biomarkers of disease, dysfunction and dysbiosis.
20% of people suffer from gastrointestinal disorders in their lifetime.
30% of patients remain undiagnosed and suffer from the recurrence of disorders.
IBS affects 25 to 45 million people in the USA and 2 to 5 million in Australia.
GI disorders and disease treatment market (2013 USD).
Unfortunately, current diagnostic methods for gastrointestinal disorders are often highly invasive or rely on subjective symptomatology and questionnaires.
Diagnostic methods such as aspiration, biopsy, endoscopy, motility pills, imaging pills and breath testing all have limitations.
Gas sensing in real-time from within the gut is an accurate, convenient method of diagnosing the common GI conditions affecting the millions of sufferers of food intolerances, motility disorders, SIBO and IBS.
- Jack Gilbert, Microbiologist and Director of the Microbiome Center at the University of Chicago. Source: NPR
A safe and accurate way of measuring the concentration of various gases at the source of production in the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) in real-time.
The Atmo Gas Capsule allows tests to be performed at home, without impacting daily activities.
Patient attends physician’s office to discuss their condition.
Patient swallows Gas Capsule with a standard meal.
Data is continuously transmitted from the Gas Capsule to the receiver. At capsule exit, data are sent to the Cloud for aggregation, analysis and patient reporting.
Patient goes about their daily activities.
Capsule exit is detected when Gas Capsule has been expelled. No retrieval is necessary.
Data is analysed and the physician discusses the results with the patient.
Within the Atmo Gas Capsule's 2cm-long polymer shell are gas sensors, a temperature sensor, a microcontroller, a radio-frequency transmitter, and button-sized silver-oxide batteries. The gas sensors are sealed within a special membrane that allows gas in but keeps out stomach acid and digestive juices.
The technology works by using sensors to measure different gases by adjusting their heating elements, and the data can then be transmitted to a mobile phone. Oxygen concentrations are used to track the capsule's progress throughout the GI tract.
Data is transmitted in real-time to a small receiver that can be carried in a pocket or left on the nightstand when someone is home. The receiver in turn transmits the data via Bluetooth to a cell phone, which can post the data online for easy monitoring by users and doctors.
Clinical trials of the Atmo Gas Capsule were conducted on 23 healthy participants adhering to either a low- or high-fibre diet. Results showed that the capsule is safe and reliable, and accurately shows the onset of food fermentation, highlighting their potential to clinically monitor digestion and normal gut health. The trials also demonstrated that the Atmo Gas Capsule could offer a much more effective way of measuring microbiome activities in the stomach, a critical way of determining gut health.
READ PUBLISHED ARTICLEThe current method for measuring gas biomarkers is using breath tests. Breath tests, however, are an indirect measurement technique requiring the gases that are generated in the gut to be absorbed into the blood stream, circulated around the body, transferred into the lungs and finally exhaled out of the mouth. For this reason breath tests show low specificity and sensitivity when compared to the direct method used by the Atmo Gas Capsule.
The Atmo Biosciences Gas Capsule has a unique set of benefits that could revolutionise the way gut disorders and diseases are diagnosed and managed.
At the source of gas production within the gut
Up to 10,000 times better than current standards
Patient data can be aggregated for clinical analysis and predictive algorithms
Cheaper than all current methods
Patients go about their normal life
The size of a common vitamin pill
Data transmitted wirelessly to receiver, phone app and cloud in real-time from known location in the gut
Potential applications span malabsorption to IBD
The Atmo Gas Capsule was invented at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, under the leadership of Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, together with Mr Nam Ha, Dr Kyle Berean, Dr Adam Chrimes and Dr Jian Zhen Ou, and is the result of eight years of research and development.
In 2018, Atmo Biosciences signed a licencing deal with RMIT securing the exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize the capsule. The capsule inventors are continuing to lead research and development at Atmo, in partnership with Planet Innovation.
Atmo Biosciences has raised A$8 million in a fully subscribed Series B funding round. The raise was led by Japanese multinational company Otsuka Pharmaceutical, an existing strategic shareholder that took up more than its pro rata entitlement....
Atmo Biosciences is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the audit of its Quality Management System to obtain ISO 13485:2016 accreditation....
Atmo Biosciences is pleased to announce that the European Patent Office and IP Australia have each granted patents related to key intellectual property for Atmo’s ingestible gas sensor capsule, providing coverage until 2037. ...
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CEO and Co-Founder
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Monash University, The Alfred
University of Michigan
Augusta University
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
University of California
