Purpose: The delivery system of the Bravo capsule was designed for placement on the esophagus. We evaluated the feasibility of our novel placement method of the Bravo capsule using a clip to monitor intragastric pH and to compare the accuracy of the Bravo wireless system to the traditionally used Slimline catheter-Mark III Digitrapper pH monitoring system.
Methods: The Bravo capsule was placed by clip or conventional delivery system using suction on the gastric wall in 20 fasted subjects. A separate group of ten healthy volunteers underwent simultaneous intragastric pH monitoring for comparison of the two systems with meals.
Results: Early dislodgment rate of the capsules was lower when placed using clipping (20%) than using conventional delivery system (70%) within 48 h after placement. We observed prominent movement of one catheter in the stomach during the study. Post-test calibration drifts of the catheters at pH 7.01 were significantly greater than those of the Bravo capsules (P = 0.02).
Conclusion: Our novel clipping method of the Bravo pH capsule placement provided accurate monitoring of intragastric pH with merits of tolerability, acid stability, and fixing position.