The Human Gas Capsule
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters by
Research
Nam Ha
BEng.(Hons), RMIT University
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Science Engineering and Health
May 2016
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Author’s Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the
author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for
any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been
carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any
editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics
procedures and guidelines have been followed.
Nam Ha
May, 2016
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Acknowledgements
I would to thank Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh for giving me the opportunity to work on this
project and develop the Human gas capsule. His support and guidance throughout my
Masters By Research candidature enabled me to fully realise my potential as an engineer. I
am grateful for gracious support in assisting me in writing and endorsing my Commonwealth
Government Training Scheme (RTS) and S.E.C.E double top-up scholarships. I also would
like to express gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Jianzhen Ou for being patience and guiding
me through the most difficult times during the last two years, I could not have completed my
Masters By Research candidature without his expertise, experience and wealth of knowledge.
A special thanks to Dr. Kyle Berean for his expertise, knowledge and providing the specially
developed PDMS membranes, without these membranes the human gas capsule would not be
possible. I kindly thank Mr. Naresh Shaun Pillai for his role in assisting with the animal trials
and clinical trial preparations. Acknowledgement also goes to Prof. Frank Dunshea, Dr.
Jeremy Cottrell, Ms. Maree Cox, Ms. Shannon Holbrook, Mr. Evan P Bittner, Mr. Fletch
Kelly, Ms. Paula Andrea Giraldo, Ms. Danni Wijesiriwardana, Mr. Pablo Salvador Alvarez
Hess, Ms. Shuchang Wan and the rest of the team from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at
the University of Melbourne for assisting and conducting animal trials for evaluating the
performances of human gas capsules. I would also like to thank Prof. Peter Gibson, Dr. Jane
Muir and Ms. CK Yao from Department of Gastroenterology, the Alfred Hospital and
Monash University for assisting the device evaluation in animal trials and interpretation of
the results. I appreciate the workmanship and expertise of the technicians at RMIT University
Alex, Mr. David Walsh and Mr. Kyrie Hadjiloizou for assisting in the initial prototypes of the
human gas capsule. The development of the human gas capsule was possible due to having
access to state of the art equipment and facilities and for that I would like to express thanks
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technical staff Mr. Yuxun Cao and Mr. Paul Jones of the Microelectronics and Materials
Technology Centre, RMIT University for keeping these facilities operational.
And lastly, a special warm thanks to my lovely wife Wing Yi Siu for her continuous support
and unconditional love during my Masters By Research journey. I could not have completed
this without her. A special thanks to my supportive parents Van Cong Ha and Tinh Thi
Phuong for raising me in their belief that hard work and honesty pays off, my siblings Luong,
Cuong and Jenny for putting up with your older brother. Finally, I express gratitude my
family and friends for their understanding in my absence in gathering and events during this
time.
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Abstract
Currently, gastroenterologists are still unable to differentiate between the most ordinary
disorders of the gut and patients with gastrointestinal illnesses are still suffering from
misdiagnosis in many cases. Conventional medical devices including acoustic and
electromagnetic based systems and endoscopy are only able to provide diagnostic imaging on
limited types of gastrointestinal disorders such as ulcer, tumour related illnesses and
inflammable bowel diseases. However, diagnostic imaging is ineffective for many other very
frequent disorders of the gut such as irritable bowel syndromes. There is an increasing
recognition that the gas constituents of the gastrointestinal tract, which are mainly the by-
products of the intestinal colonising microbiota activities, can provide key information
regarding the gut’s state-of-health. Unfortunately, most of the currently available intestinal
gas profiling methods are either unreliable, cost-ineffective or rely on off-line measurement
equipment which are bulky and expensive. In this Master by Research project, the candidate
has successfully developed a swallowable and indigestible electronic device coined “human
gas capsule” for addressing this critical issue. The human gas capsule enables the real-time
gas profiling of gastrointestinal tract in an accurate, non-invasive and cost-effective manner.
The safety and viability of human gas capsules are fully evaluated in both laboratorial and
animal models. The capability of the human gas capsule is firstly demonstrated in a pig
model in response to diet; in which the change of intestinal gas profile is consistent with a
benchmark based on a post mortem pig study, showing the strong reliability of the human gas
capsule. The capability of human gas capsules are further assessed in a large number of pigs
under the influence of a heat-stress-induced gut disorder and cinnamon supplemental
therapeutic effect. Strong repeatability of the measured intestinal gas profiles is observed,
indicating the high potential of the human gas capsule in future research into pathogenesis of
gastrointestinal disorders, dietary and drug effects, and clinical diagnostic applications.