Method, program, and apparatus for determining location of ingestible capsule

Apparatus for determining a location of an ingestible capsule within a gastrointestinal, GI, tract of a subject mammal, comprising:

• an ingestible capsule, being ingestible by a subject mammal, the ingestible capsule comprising a housing, a power source, a TCD gas sensor, and a VOC gas sensor;
• means to record the readings of the ingestible capsule as a function of time including a period during which the ingestible capsule is within the gastrointestinal, GI, tract of the subject mammal, the readings including TCD gas sensor readings and VOC gas sensor readings, the said means being the ingestible capsule or a receiver apparatus configured to receive, at a location external to the subject mammal, readings from the ingestible capsule at a location internal to the subject mammal;
• a processing apparatus, the processing apparatus being configured to process the recorded readings by a process including:
• determining a first transition event timing, the first transition event timing being a timing of a gastric-duodenal transition by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the first transition event timing comprises detecting a gastric-duodenal transition indicator in a first subset of the recorded readings, the first subset including the recorded TCD gas sensor readings;
• and
• determining a second transition event timing, the second transition event timing being a timing of a transition across an ileocecal junction by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the second transition event timing comprises detecting an ileocecal junction indicator in a second subset of the recorded readings, the second subset including the VOC gas sensor readings.

A method of determining a location of an ingestible capsule within a gastrointestinal, GI, tract of a subject mammal, the method comprising:

• providing the ingestible capsule to the subject mammal for ingestion, the ingestible capsule comprising a housing, a power source, a TCD gas sensor, and a VOC gas sensor;
• recording readings of the ingestible capsule as a function of time, the readings including TCD gas sensor readings and VOC gas sensor readings;
• processing the recorded readings, including:
• determining a first transition event timing, the first transition event timing being a timing of a gastric-duodenal transition by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the first transition event timing comprises detecting a gastric-duodenal transition indicator in a first subset of the recorded readings, the first subset including the recorded TCD gas sensor readings;
• and
• determining a second transition event timing, the second transition event timing being a timing of a transition across an ileocecal junction by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the second transition event timing comprises detecting an ileocecal junction indicator in a second subset of the recorded readings, the second subset including the VOC gas sensor readings.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program for determining a location of an ingestible capsule within a gastrointestinal, GI, tract of a subject mammal, the ingestible capsule being ingestible by a subject mammal and comprising a housing, a power source, a TCD gas sensor, and a VOC gas sensor;

• the computer program being executable by a computing apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, and upon execution to cause the computing apparatus to perform a process comprising:
• accessing recorded readings of the ingestible capsule as a function of time including a period during which the ingestible capsule is within the GI tract of the subject mammal, the readings including TCD gas sensor readings, and VOC gas sensor readings,
• processing the recorded readings, including:
• determining a first transition event timing, the first transition event timing being a timing of a gastric-duodenal transition by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the first transition event timing comprises detecting a gastric-duodenal transition indicator in a first subset of the recorded readings, the first subset including the recorded TCD gas sensor readings;
• and
• determining a second transition event timing, the second transition event timing being a timing of a transition across an ileocecal junction by the ingestible capsule, wherein determining the second transition event timing comprises detecting an ileocecal junction indicator in a second subset of the recorded readings, the second subset including the VOC gas sensor readings.