Observations of phase shifts from cutaneous electrogastrography

The authors show that the propagation of the gastric activities in the stomach can be detected from abdominally recorded EGGs (electrogastrograms). The conventional measurement method is not adequate for detecting the propagation. The stomach must be carefully localized before the measurement. The electrodes should be attached on the abdomen along the longitudinal axis of the stomach. Phase shifts have been observed from all of the volunteers and patients with the position of the stomach localized by X-ray. It is easier to detect phase shifts in fasting than in postprandial situations. The reason could be that there exist more contractions in the stomach in the postprandial situation. These contraction-related gastric activities do not propagate as regularly as the slow waves, which makes the cutaneous EGGs more complicated.<>