Yes, scientists have invented smart underwear.
And yes, we’re going to have to talk about farts.
But this isn’t really a story about underwear—or even intestinal gas. It’s about developing a new way to monitor what’s happening inside the gut microbiome in real time.
In a new episode of Causes or Cures, I talk with researcher Dr. Brantley Hall about wearable “smart underwear” designed to continuously measure hydrogen produced by microbes in the gut.
And despite what my nephews may think, there is actual science happening here.
What Does Smart Underwear Have to Do With the Gut Microbiome?
Our gut microbes produce gases as they break down and ferment food. One of those gases is hydrogen.
Measuring that hydrogen can provide information about microbial activity in the gut. Traditionally, researchers and clinicians have relied on tools such as breath testing and stool samples to learn about what’s happening inside our digestive systems.
But those methods provide information at particular points in time.
What if you could monitor microbial activity continuously while someone goes about their normal day?
That’s where the underwear comes in.
Dr. Hall and his colleagues developed a wearable device capable of continuously detecting hydrogen gas produced by the gut.
Can You Really Monitor Gut Hydrogen Through Underwear?
Apparently, yes.
In the study, participants wore the device for more than 11 hours per day, allowing researchers to continuously measure changes in hydrogen rather than relying on an occasional sample or test.
We talk about how the technology works, what researchers were actually measuring, and how wearable monitoring differs from more traditional approaches to studying the gut.
There’s also the practical matter of creating a scientific device that people are willing to wear for most of the day.
Because a sensor can be scientifically brilliant, but if nobody wants it anywhere near their underwear, you’ve got a problem.
What Happened When Participants Consumed Inulin?
Researchers also wanted to know whether the smart underwear could detect changes in microbial activity after people consumed inulin, a fermentable dietary fiber.
It could.
In the podcast, Dr. Hall explains what researchers observed and why being able to continuously track changes following food consumption could be particularly interesting.
After all, two people can eat the same food and have very different experiences afterward.
Understanding those individual responses is one reason researchers are increasingly interested in more personalized ways of studying the gut microbiome.
Could Smart Underwear Help With IBS or Personalized Nutrition?
This is where the technology becomes potentially much more interesting than its name.
Continuous monitoring of gut microbial activity could someday help researchers better understand how individuals respond to particular foods and potentially contribute to research involving personalized nutrition, food intolerances, IBS, and other digestive conditions.
The important word is potentially.
This is emerging technology, not a pair of diagnostic underwear you can order tomorrow that will tell you exactly what to eat.
But the ability to monitor changes continuously could give researchers information that is difficult to capture using conventional testing alone.
And About That Battery…
Developing wearable technology also creates some unusual engineering problems.
Namely: How do you power electronic underwear without putting something potentially dangerous next to some rather important anatomy?
Dr. Hall explains the challenges involved in making the device comfortable and safe—including why putting a conventional lithium-ion battery in someone’s underwear wasn’t exactly an appealing solution.
Science occasionally requires asking questions you never anticipated asking.
What Can Smart Underwear Tell Us About the Future of Gut Health?
For all the obvious jokes, the bigger story isn’t really about underwear.
It’s about continuous biological monitoring.
Wearable devices already allow us to continuously track things like heart rate, physical activity, sleep, and glucose. Could microbial activity eventually become another biological signal we monitor over time?
And could watching those changes help us better understand the complicated relationship among food, our gut microbes, and our individual biology?
That’s what makes the smart underwear interesting.
The fart monitoring is just a bonus.
Listen to the Full Causes or Cures Episode
In my conversation with Dr. Brantley Hall, we talk about how the smart underwear works, why researchers measure hydrogen, what happened during the inulin experiment, how the device compares with breath and stool testing, its potential applications for digestive health and personalized nutrition—and what it’s like telling people that you’ve helped invent smart underwear.
🎧 Listen to the full episode here
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Another great one on the microbiome that might make you consider your romantic choices!
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