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Gastroparesis is often diagnosed in specific ways. If you have signs or symptoms of gastroparesis, it is reasonable to get tested. There are two main tests that are the best available to diagnose this condition. One is a four-hour solid gastric emptying study. This is a test that the radiologists do, and they determine the time it takes for food to travel through the stomach. You actually ingest a radio labeled food, and then you’ll be scanned at various intervals to determine if there’s a delay in the emptying. This test is actually now readily available at many locations in many centers. A newer test that’s available is called a smart pill study. In this test you actually take in a capsule that contains a small electronic device. You’ll swallow the capsule and as it moves through the digestive tract, it sends information to a receiver that you’re wearing and it shows how quickly the food will travel through the entire digestive tract. The benefit of this test in particular is that in addition to ascertaining the motility of the stomach, it also determines the motility of other parts of the bowel, including the small bowel and the colon.
