Diagnosis of gastric disorders by non-invasive myoelectrical measurements

In the paper, the authors present a model to diagnose gastric disorders by non-invasive measurements. Gastric electrical activity is measured by electrogastrographic technique. Skin surface electrodes placed in epigastric area are used to record myoelectrical signals. Cutaneous electrogastrography (EGG) records gastric slow waves from the body surface. Acquired signals are filtered and subsequently processed by Discrete Wavelet Transform. The study of dominant frequency components allows physician to assess gastric activity arrhythmias (tachygastria, bradygastria and irregular rhythm) due to specific pathologies. Power spectral density diagrams are obtained. The proposed diagnostic criteria estimate the presence of gastric pathology by the analysis of the frequency and power of the EGG waveform. Specific diagnostic parameters have been defined and put in comparison with reference values of normal EGG in order to evaluate arrhythmias occurrence. An innovative approach has been used to optimize the multifactorial diagnosis model.