What does the motility capsule test show?

How long it takes for the capsule to leave the stomach, pass through the small intestine, and move through the colon, which helps diagnose slow emptying or slow colon transit.

No alcohol for 24 hours before, and nothing to eat or drink (no smoking or vaping) for 8 hours before. Several medicines that change gut movement must be stopped 1 to 7 days before, as listed on your instruction sheet.

How long does the test last?

Until the capsule comes out, usually a few days. You wear a small recorder and mark meals and bowel movements in the app.

Motility Capsule Test: Measuring How Your Gut Moves

The motility capsule test uses a small capsule that you swallow. As it travels through your digestive tract it sends signals to a recorder you wear, showing how quickly food moves through the stomach, small intestine, and colon. The test starts at our Temple City office.

The capsule we use: MotiliCap

We use MotiliCap by AnX Robotica, a wireless, single-use capsule that measures transit through the whole gut, from stomach emptying through the colon, in one test. It needs no sedation, X-rays, or radiation. You swallow it and go about your day, and our physicians review the results with AnX's MotiliScan software.

MotiliCap capsule and recorder (image: AnX Robotica)

Why it's done

Suspected gastroparesis (slow stomach emptying)
Severe constipation that doesn't respond to treatment
Symptoms that suggest slow movement in more than one part of the gut

How to prepare

24 hours before: no alcohol
8 hours before: nothing to eat or drink, and no smoking or vaping. Only a small sip of water for morning pills.
Medicines that change how the gut moves must be stopped on a schedule, from 7 days before (acid pills such as omeprazole, and gut-motility drugs) to 1 day before (antacids). Your instruction sheet has the full list.
If you have diabetes, don't take diabetes pills the morning of your test (take them when you eat again, 6 hours after you swallow the capsule), and take half your usual morning insulin.

Read the full motility capsule instructions (also in Español, Tiếng Việt, 简体中文, and 繁體中文). All instruction sheets are on our Procedure Instructions page.

Test day

You eat a special snack bar, then swallow the capsule. For the next 6 hours, don't eat, take medicine, sleep, or exercise hard. After 6 hours you can eat normally. You wear a small recorder and mark meals and bowel movements in the app.

Until the capsule comes out

Avoid laxatives, diarrhea medicine, and the stop-list medicines
Check the toilet each time; when you see the capsule, follow the steps on your sheet before flushing
Return the recorder to our office

Do not have an MRI until the capsule has passed.

Make an appointment

Our gastroenterologists in Temple City care for patients from Arcadia, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Monrovia, Monterey Park, and across the San Gabriel Valley. We accept most PPO plans (see accepted insurances), and our doctors speak English, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. Schedule an appointment or call 626-898-4560.

This article is for general education and is not a substitute for medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own health.