Talking about flatulence may feel awkward, but scientists say it could reveal important clues about gut health.
Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed what they call “Smart Underwear,” the first wearable device designed to measure how often people pass gas and what that gas contains.
For years, doctors have struggled to help patients who complain about excessive gas.
Traditional methods relied on self-reporting or small, invasive studies, which are often inaccurate. People may forget to record events, miss them during sleep, or simply feel embarrassed.
As a result, there has never been a reliable baseline for what “normal” flatulence looks like.
To solve this problem, a team led by Brantley Hall created a small device that snaps discreetly onto regular underwear.
The device uses electrochemical sensors to detect hydrogen in flatus around the clock. Their findings were published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X.
In their study, healthy adults passed gas an average of 32 times per day. That is about twice as many as older medical estimates, which suggested around 14 times daily.
Some participants had as few as four events per day, while others had as many as 59. The wide range shows just how different normal can be from one person to another.
The key measurement in the device is hydrogen. Most intestinal gas contains hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, and some people also produce methane. Hydrogen is especially important because it is created only by gut microbes when they break down food in the intestines. By tracking hydrogen levels, researchers can get a real-time picture of how active the gut microbiome is.
The device works somewhat like a continuous glucose monitor used by people with diabetes. Instead of tracking blood sugar, it continuously tracks microbial fermentation in the gut. In testing, the device successfully detected increased hydrogen after participants consumed inulin, a type of prebiotic fiber, with high accuracy.
Building on these findings, Hall’s team has launched a project called the Human Flatus Atlas. The goal is to measure flatulence patterns in hundreds of adults across the United States to establish a true “normal range.” Participants can join remotely and receive devices by mail. The researchers will also study how diet and microbiome composition relate to gas production.
The team is especially interested in two groups. Some people eat high-fiber diets but produce surprisingly little gas. Others produce large amounts of hydrogen and pass gas frequently. By collecting stool samples and analyzing the microbiome, scientists hope to understand why these differences occur.
Although the topic may seem humorous, the research has serious potential. Understanding normal gas production could help doctors better diagnose digestive disorders and evaluate how diet, probiotics, or prebiotics affect gut health.
By turning an everyday bodily function into measurable data, Smart Underwear may open a new chapter in microbiome research and digestive medicine.
