FoodMarble, a leading digital health company in the gastroenterology space, today launched the world’s most advanced personal digestive breath tester: AIRE 2. For the first time, anyone suffering from ongoing digestive issues such as SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and IBS can use this pocket-size device at home to measure and monitor their digestion in real time to help better manage their digestive health.
This advanced analytical technology enables individuals to pinpoint foods contributing to excessively rapid fermentation in the gut, which can lead to a myriad of digestive health symptoms. This latest release from FoodMarble will also be used by health care professionals enabling them to better understand patients’ digestive disorders, including IBS and SIBO. Early data from an ongoing clinical trial from Johns Hopkins Medicine, led by Dr Jay Pasricha, has demonstrated the benefit of remotely monitoring breath levels after meals using FoodMarble technology. This potentially offers a much more accurate way to identify those that will respond to SIBO treatment.
“At FoodMarble we’re continuously working to give people the tools they need to overcome some of these really challenging digestive issues,” said Aonghus Shortt, CEO and co-founder of FoodMarble. “With AIRE 2, the only consumer-facing device of its kind, we are able to further our mission to make advanced, personalised at-home breath testing technology for gut health available to everyone that needs it.”
When food isn’t fully digested, the microbes in your gut break it down and produce hydrogen. If this happens too quickly or starts to build up, it can leave you feeling bloated and gassy. For some, the hydrogen can be converted by other microbes to make another gas: methane. Methane has been shown to slow down the passage of food in the gut and is commonly linked to constipation. For example, those with constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C) tend to have more methane producing microbes than those that are diarrhea-predominant.
It is estimated that up to 92M in the US suffer with SIBO, which affects the absorption of nutrients, often resulting in the rapid onset of undesirable symptoms, including bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue and nausea. SIBO is considered a population-wide disorder and is associated with common conditions like autoimmune disorders (e.g. IBD, coeliac disease), diabetes and obesity, as well common medication use, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), narcotics and antibiotics. Additionally as we age, our intestinal motility slows down.
Additionally, providing this innovative at-home breath testing technology to patients enables them to monitor and manage their symptoms under the guidance of a physician.
“Breath testing can be an effective procedure in the assessment of a variety of digestive disorders,” says Hiroshi Mashimo, MD PhD. “However, it can take up significant resources in the clinic setting. Since each patient has their own FoodMarble device, they can use it for multiple tests and collect data over time. From the patient’s perspective, it gives them the flexibility to test when suitable for them, and there is a lot of emerging research supporting the idea that home testing is preferred.”
The AIRE 2 is launching on Feb 8th on foodmarble.com for $249 and will be rolling out to Amazon.com in the spring.
*It’s important to speak with your doctor if you suspect you have SIBO. However, if you’ve already received a SIBO diagnosis from a doctor, AIRE 2 can be helpful for tracking daily levels of fermentation.
