Measuring intestinal gas in the bath

Dr Janet Tomlin developed an ingeneous method of collecting flatus in normal volunteers using gas proof bags sealed to the anus. She tested this for leaks in the bath! Her work afforded an impression of the normal variation of flatus production in normal volunteers. Tomlin, J., Lowis, C., Read, N.W.... Read more »

The Ileal Brake

The observation that that infusion of fat and to a lesser extent sugars and protein into the ileum could delay small bowel transit and slow gastric emptying offered a means whereby intestinal absorption might be modified, offering new ideas for controlling drug delivery and treating obesity. Read, N.W., MacFarlane, A.,... Read more »

Small Intestinal Transit and Motility

A collaboration with Dr Immanuel Bergman from the Safety in Mines Research Establishment in Sheffield led to the development of a simple device for measuring breath hydrogen, which we exploited for the measurement of small intestinal transit time. The combination of this with scintigraphic measurement of gastric emptying and radioopaque... Read more »

Electrical Measurement of Gastrointestinal Transport

Intestinal absorption of glucose and amino acids generates a small electric current across the epithelium.  With my supervisors, Drs Roy Levin and Derek Holdsworth, I devised a way a measuring these in human volunteers using an intestinal tube filled with saline as one electrode and a subcutaneous cannula as the... Read more »