ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
High-frame-rate ultrasound analysis of gastric peristalsis using the Peristaltic Analyzer: a pilot feasibility study
Provisionally accepted
- Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China
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Background: Gastric peristalsis plays a pivotal role in regulating gastric emptying and digestive function. However, current clinical assessments of gastric motility primarily rely on invasive or low-temporal-resolution techniques, which fail to support dynamic, real-time evaluations. Methods: We innovatively extended the Peristaltic Analyzer (PA)—a high-frame-rate ultrasound technology originally designed for endometrial wave analysis to the assessment of gastric peristalsis. Utilizing submicron displacement tracking and spatiotemporal vector analysis, we conducted real-time visualization and quantitative evaluation of gastric motility in 9 healthy volunteers. Results: All participants completed image acquisition and peristaltic tracking. The detected peristaltic waves consistently propagated from the proximal to the distal stomach, with an average propagation speed of 1.99 ± 0.18 mm/s, propagation distance of 3.23 ± 0.33 cm, peristaltic intensity of 4.76 ± 1.52 (relative units), interval of 17.31 ± 0.86 s, and frequency of 3.53 ± 0.19 bpm. Waveforms appeared continuous and rhythmic, with uniform propagation direction and clear spatiotemporal profiles. Conclusion: As the first application of the PA high-frame-rate peristaltic analysis technology to gastric motility assessment, this study demonstrates its strong potential as a non-invasive and real-time tool for early detection, quantitative monitoring, and clinical evaluation of functional gastrointestinal disorders. PA exhibited superior performance in motion detection, directional analysis, and fine-scale displacement measurement. These capabilities highlight its potential as a novel tool for early identification and longitudinal monitoring of functional gastrointestinal disorders, postoperative gastric dysmotility, and diabetic gastroparesis, offering substantial clinical translational value and applicability.
Keywords: gastric motility, Gastric peristalsis, High-frame-rate ultrasound, non-invasive imaging, peristaltic analyzer
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Han, Li, Zhuang, LI, He, Zhang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Man Lu
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