Ultrasound Measurement in M Mode of Peristalsis and Gastric Emptying

The use of ultrasound equipment in routine clinical evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract is still standby. Objective: to show an alternative application of ultrasound technique for monitoring peristalsis and gastric emptying through an executable routine implemented in LabVIEW. Methods: an ultrasound equipment (Medison SONACE 800 SE) was used in ten healthy subjects and four patients; dominant peristalsis frequency and gastric emptying were measured after fasting nights of the patients; subjects ingested, first 300 mL of water and then a solid meal (240 kCal). Results: the video acquisition in M mode and imaging processing were performed in a LabVIEW platform, as long as digital signal processing was carried out in matlab 2008a; peristaltic frequency of 2.4 cpm (cycles per minute) and a half time of the gastric emptying around 35 s were found. Discussion: these findings are congruent with similar evaluations of GI tract obtained by using the gold standard technique. So, ultrasound technique is now an alternative procedure for gastric evaluation with the advantage that patients are free of ionizing radiation, and these equipments are amply available in the world hospitals.