Abstract: The invention relates to a device for measuring the intestinal motility, that comprises a solid marker intended for travelling along the entire digestive system of a living being, or a portion thereof, a detector including means for detecting the position and the orientation of the marker, means for measuring the intestinal motility connected to the detector, wherein the marker and the detector includes transmission means and reception means for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals that ensure a bi-directional communication between the marker and the detector. The invention also relates to the use of the above-mentioned device.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring and stimulating GI motility is provided. One or more capsules (or motility markers) may be ingested by a patient for passage through the GI tract. Each capsule may contain an emitting coil which produces an AC magnetic field, or a permanent magnet. An external sensing device comprising multiple magnetic field sensors is used to measure, among other data, the position of the ingested capsules within the GI tract. As signals from the magnetic field sensors are acquired, an iterative algorithm continuously calculates the magnetic momentum and position of each capsule in real time. The position of each capsule may be defined by five coordinates (x, y, z, &thgr;, &phgr;) representing three translations and two rotations. This data may be displayed in real time or saved for further processing.