An Improved Method for Recording and Analyzing the Electrical Activity of the Human Stomach

We have simultaneously recorded the transcutaneous and gastric electrogastrogram in 26 humans. The gastric suction electrode had 3 sintered Ag/AgCl electrodes which minimized motion artifacts. These were cast into a silicone rubber cup. For the transcutaneous signals, we punctured the skin under sintered Ag/AgCl transcutaneous electrodes to minimize variations in skin potential. We located the gastric electrode by fluoroscopy in the antrum and located the transcutaneous electrode over it to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio. A gastric pressure balloon confirmed that large electrical waves were synchronous with gastric contractions. We successfully recorded the electrogastrogram in 23 of 26 normal subjects. A fast Fourier transform produced a similar power spectrum for transcutaneous and gastric recordings. The cross-correlation function between the transcutaneous recording and the gastric recording confirms that the signals are of the same origin. This noninvasive transcutaneous technique is very attractive to investigate patients with suspected gastric disturbances.