RFID prevents lump in the throat

Medical researchers have combined RFID technology with impedance monitoring, which measures electrical impulses, to create a device that can more easily track oesophageal reflux.

University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Centre doctors and UT Arlington engineers developed the device to improve monitoring of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. GERD is caused by stomach content moving upward from the stomach into the oesophagus.

The new system involves pinning a small, flexible RFID chip to the oesophagus, where it remains until removed by a physician. The chip, about two centimetres square, tests for electrical impulses that signal acidic or non-acidic liquids moving through the oesophagus. It then transmits data to a wireless sensor worn around the neck.

The device is currently being tested. Researchers believe it will be a welcome replacement for current standard procedures, which require placing a flexible catheter tube through the nose and down into the oesophagus, which is uncomfortable and can affect eating and drinking.