Gastric Emptying: in vivo studies to determine normal ranges
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gastric Emptying: in vivo studies in healthy volunteers (using scrambled egg and porridge) to determine reliable normal ranges
IRAS ID
205705
Contact name
Shazmeen Hansrod
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Gastric emptying scintigraphy is a study used to measure the gastric emptying rate of patients. This is the rate at which a meal empties out of the stomach after ingestion. The study is commonly performed in diabetic patients who present with GI symptoms (owing to nerve damage to the stomach). The test involves eating a radioactive meal and subsequent imaging using a gamma camera. The data is processed to calculate the gastric emptying rate which is then compared to normal ranges. The current radioactive meal is not particularly palatable, does not meet the dietary requirements of most patients and is difficult to prepare. In addition, in vitro studies have found the current meal to be inferior to other meal preparations. Another advantage of this research is that the test meals and normal ranges published can be adopted by other hospitals, leading to standardisation of the protocol used across the UK. The research project will involve recruitment of healthy volunteers who will eat a meal containing 10MBq of a radioactive tracer. They will be subsequently scanned using a gamma camera with imaging lasting no more than 3 hours in total. Approximately 40 healthy volunteers will be recruited and the studies will be conducted on site i.e. within the Nuclear Medicine department at City hospital.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0059
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion