# US 5,707,602 A · Measurement of gastric emptying

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- Number: US 5,707,602 A
- Document ID: US5707602A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/619,140
- Filed: 1996-03-25
- Granted: 1998-01-13
- Earliest claimed: 1996-03-25
- Assignees: Meretek Diagnostics
- Inventors: Peter D. Klein
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5707602A

## CPC

- A61K 51/1206: {Administration of radioactive gases, aerosols or breath tests}
- A61K 2123/00: Preparations for testing in vivo
- A61K: PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES (devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms A61J3/00; chemical aspects of, or use of materials for deodorisation of air, for disinfection or sterilisation, or for bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles A61L; soap compositions C11D)

## Abstract

A biscuit adapted to be ingested by a patient to enable measurement of gastric emptying has added prior to baking Spirulina Platensis alga grown in a .sup.13 CO.sub.2 atmosphere. These single cell organisms are oxidized after digestion in the small intestine to produce a detectible rise in level of .sup.13 CO.sub.2 in the patient's breath which is sampled and plotted to enable diagnosis of abnormal gastric emptying rates.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of measuring gastric emptying time comprising the steps of: preparing a biscuit containing an edible photosynthetic alga labeled with a carbon isotope, having a patient ingest said biscuit so that the carbon labeled nutrients therein are absorbed in the small intestine and oxidized to labeled CO.sub.2 ; and detecting the level of CO.sub.2 in breath samples taken from the patient at periodic intervals to determine the rate of gastric emptying.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein said alga is Spirulina platensis which has been grown in an atmosphere of .sup.N CO.sub.2 where N is one of the numbers 13 and 14.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2 wherein said biscuit is made from a dough recipe containing specifically labeled .sup.N C carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and where N is one of the numbers 13 and 14.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3 where prior to ingestion the biscuit is provided with a fat-containing spread.

### Claim 5

A food adapted to be ingested by a patient in connection with a gastric emptying test, comprising: a biscuit having added thereto prior to baking photosynthetic single cell organisms grown in an atmosphere high in .sup.N CO.sub.2 so that when oxidized a detectible rise in the .sup.N CO.sub.2 content of the patient's breath is produced, N being one of the numbers 13 and 14.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The food of claim 5 where the organisms are an edible alga.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The food of claim 6 wherein said alga is Spirulina Platensis.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The food of claim 7 wherein said biscuit contains uniformly labeled carbohydrates, protein and fats to give it a calorie value of about 150.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The food of claim 8 further including a fat-containing spread placed on said biscuit prior to ingestion.