That's why researchers from Australia's RMIT and Monash universities have now developed a capsule that measures concentrations of intestinal gases, and sends that data to a smartphone or other device.

The presence of different types of intestinal gas is not only associated with various gastrointestinal disorders, but may also serve as an indication of a patient's overall health.

Ordinarily, these gases are measured using methods such as breath analysis. According to lead scientist Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh of RMIT, however, those methods are unreliable. For one thing, they can't determine where within the digestive tract the gases are present.