FOR CLINICIANS

Stop inferring stomach acid. Measure it.

Most decisions about gastric acid are made without measuring it. The Heidelberg pH Capsule System gives you the missing variable: a real time intragastric pH tracing and a quantified reacidification response to a standardized bicarbonate challenge, in about an hour.

The device measures. You decide.
Sample tracing
7 5 3 1 pH BASELINE CHALLENGE REACIDIFICATION
Bicarbonate challenge~45–90 min
THE DIAGNOSTIC GAP

The data layer your acid decisions are missing.

Hypochlorhydria is common and largely invisible in routine practice, because there has been no accessible real time measurement tool at the point of care.

31.5%

of adults aged 60 to 99 showed atrophic gastritis — a pepsinogen I/II ratio below 2.9 — in a 359 subject cohort.

Krasinski et al., J Am Geriatr Soc 1986;34:800–806.

Acid output is further reduced by autoimmune gastritis, Helicobacter pylori, and chronic acid suppression. The downstream consequences are concrete: impaired non-heme iron absorption, vitamin B12 malabsorption, calcium and magnesium malabsorption, reduced pepsin activation and protein digestion, and loss of the gastric acid barrier that restrains small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and enteric pathogens.

When a patient presents with refractory deficiency, unexplained SIBO, or dyspepsia of uncertain mechanism, objective acid measurement reframes the workup.
CLINICAL APPLICATIONS

Where the measurement informs care.

Hypochlorhydria & Achlorhydria

Confirm low or absent acid output.

Quantify reacidification time after bicarbonate challenge to assess whether parietal cells restore acidity within expected intervals. The device aids the diagnosis of hypochlorhydria and achlorhydria; you integrate the tracing with serology and history.

Hyperchlorhydria

Characterize excess acid.

Rapid, vigorous reacidification and low baseline pH aid the diagnosis of hyperchlorhydria — objective data rather than symptom inference.

PPI Assessment & Deprescribing

Deprescribe on data, not guesswork.

The AGA (2022) and Canadian guidelines (2017) advise periodic review of ongoing PPI indication, yet these decisions are made without measuring acid. In one ambulatory cohort, 36 percent of PPI use had no documented indication. Objective pre- and post-measurement supports rational tapering and distinguishes rebound from recurrent disease.

Targownik et al., Gastroenterology 2022; Heidelbaugh et al., Am J Manag Care 2010.
Functional Digestive Presentations

Resolve an uncertain mechanism.

Where dyspepsia, early satiety, and reflux-type symptoms have an unclear acid basis, the tracing distinguishes a low-acid from a high-acid mechanism.

Post-Surgical Evaluation

Altered anatomy, altered acid.

After bariatric surgery, gastric pH rises substantially — to 4.9 after sleeve gastrectomy and 6.4 after one-anastomosis gastric bypass — with direct consequences for oral drug absorption.

Porat / Azran et al., Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2021.
Pediatric & Broader Gastroenterology

Noninvasive, no radiation.

A nonradioactive means of assessing gastric acidity without intubation, applicable where tube-based aspiration is poorly tolerated.

HOW IT WORKS

One capsule, one hour, a quantitative tracing.

01
CALIBRATE

Two-point calibration at pH 1.0 and pH 7.0 against reference buffers.

02
ADMINISTER

The patient swallows the tethered capsule. Record fasting baseline pH, then deliver sequential sodium bicarbonate challenges.

03
MEASURE

Time the return to baseline acidity after each challenge. Reacidification interval, pattern, and how strongly the stomach restores its acidity..

INTEGRATION
An in-office procedure.

The Heidelberg system fits a standard clinic. It requires no catheter, no sedation, and no ionizing radiation, and the equipment stays with your practice between patients.

NO SPECIAL FACILITIES

Performed in a standard exam room. No catheter, no sedation, no ionizing radiation.

ABOUT ONE HOUR

A typical bicarbonate challenge protocol runs 45 to 90 minutes, with results available the same visit.

REUSABLE SYSTEM

One transceiver and recorder stays in your practice; capsules are single use and simply reordered.

TRAINING INCLUDED

Onsite or remote training on calibration, administration, and tracing interpretation.

Get in touch

Request information.

Tell us about your practice and what you want to measure. We will follow up directly.

Or email us directly at info@heidelbergmed.com

Indicated for use by qualified healthcare professionals. CAUTION: Federal Law (USA) restricts these devices to sale by or on the order of a physician.

Physicians  ·  Pharma R&D  ·  Academic Research

For decades, physicians and clinicians, pharmaceutical R&D teams, and academic researchers have relied on the Heidelberg system.

Be one of the first to offer the upgraded system in your practice.

A charter program for the founding group of practitioners.

Become a Charter Practitioner