Computerized Analysis of Spike Burst Activity in the Small Intestine

The myoelectric activity occurring within the intestine is exceedingly complex and existing analytic techniques are tedious and laborious. An automated system has been developed to perform computerized analysis of electrical spike burst activity recorded from multiple small intestinal electrodes. This software data analysis system was developed to 1) recognize individual spike bursts occurring in each of 7 electrodes, 2) measure the duration of the spike burst, and 3) if it propagates the length of intestine (number of electrodes) over which it propagates and the intercontractile time intervals between it and every other burst in the propagation, and 4) perform routine statistical calculations on these data and present the results in tabular and graphical form. This technique accomplishes precise quantification of both temporal and spatial relationships between spike bursts and agrees with manual analytical techniques. It should lead to improved understanding of the relationship between electromechanical events and flow within the intestinal lumen.