New Smart Underwear Unlocks the Serious Science of Human Flatulence

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WWe have smart rings, smart watches and now… smart underwear.

It was developed by a team of researchers led by University of Maryland biologist Brantly Hall as a small device equipped with electrochemical sensors that can clip directly onto your underwear. What does this device measure? Farts, of course. Or to put it in more polite and scientific terms: flatulence.

But why?

It turns out that scientific knowledge about human flatulence is almost as nebulous as the gas itself. To quote the “king of farts,” gastroenterologist Michael Leavitt, “it is virtually impossible for the physician to objectively document the existence of excess gas using currently available tests. » We have established reference values ​​for normal blood sugar, normal cholesterol levels, and normal hormone levels, but no such reference value exists for flatulence.

“We don’t really know what normal flatulence production looks like,” Hall said in a statement. “Without this baseline, it’s difficult to know when a person’s gas production is truly excessive.”

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To fill this glaring gap in our understanding of the human body, the team created this unobtrusive sensor, tested it with human subjects, and recently published their results in Biosensors and bioelectronics:. They found that healthy adults pass gas an average of 32 times per day, more than double the previous estimate of 14.

Why were previous estimates lower? One reason is that previous studies relied on self-reported flatulence, which (as you might imagine) resulted in undercounting. Now, with this new device, scientists can get an accurate reading of the frequency and content of our intestinal gases.

“Objective measurement gives us an opportunity to increase scientific rigor in a difficult-to-study area,” Hall said.

So, what exactly are farts made of? For most people, hydrogen as well as some carbon dioxide and nitrogen, although some people’s flatulence also contains methane. Hydrogen, produced exclusively by the microbiota in our guts, is what the sensor detects, and the data it collects allows us to better understand how active our gut biomes are. In testing, the sensor was able to detect increased hydrogen production after subjects consumed prebiotic fiber with a sensitivity of 94.7%.

“Think of it like a continuous glucose monitor, but for intestinal gas,” Hall said.

Moving forward, Hall and his team are launching the Human Flatus Atlas, recruiting hundreds of participants to establish normal baseline flatulence levels. Specifically, Hall is looking for gas passers across the spectrum that the team identified in their research: “Zen digesters,” who eat a high-fiber diet but experience minimal flatulence; “hyperhydrogen producers” who frequently flatulate; and those who fall between these two extremes.

If you would like to help, you can sign up here. Just know that the days of blaming the dog are over.

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Main image: Aleksandra Kirichenko / Shutterstock

• Jake Currie

  Published on February 11, 2026

  Jake Currie is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York.