GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT DETECTION METHODS, DEVICES AND SYSTEMS

1 . A method, comprising:

transferring a fluid sample from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or from the reproductive tract of a subject into a first dilution chamber of a device in vivo; and

combining the fluid sample and a first dilution fluid in the first dilution chamber to produce a first diluted sample.

2 - 165 . (canceled)

266 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the device comprises a plurality of dilution chambers; and

for each at least some of the plurality of dilution chambers, the method comprises:

transferring a fluid sample into the dilution chamber; and

combining the fluid sample and the first dilution fluid in the first dilution chamber to produce a diluted sample.

267 . The method of claim 266 , further comprising combining diluted samples from at least two different dilution chambers to provide a further diluted sample.

268 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is an ingestible device.

269 . The method of claim 268 , further comprising orally administering the device to the subject.

270 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first dilution fluid comprises a sterile medium.

271 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising culturing the diluted sample to produce a cultured sample.

272 . The method of claim 271 , wherein the culturing is performed in vivo.

273 . The method of claim 271 , wherein the culturing is performed ex vivo.

274 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting an analyte in the sample.

275 . The method of claim 274 , wherein the analyte comprises a cell.

276 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first dilution fluid comprises an anti-fungal agent.

277 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first dilution fluid comprises sterile media, and the sterile media comprise an antibiotic.

278 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first dilution fluid comprises an indicator media.

279 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising culturing the one or more diluted samples to produce one or more cultured samples, and detecting the presence or absence of an analyte in the one or more cultured samples.

280 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting a level of bacteria in the one or more diluted or cultured samples, wherein the fluid sample is jejunal fluid and a bacterial concentration of 10 5 CFU/mL or greater in the jejunal fluid is indicative that the subject has SIBO.

281 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyte comprises a bacterium, and the method comprises detecting the presence or absence of bacterial growth in the one or more cultured samples.

282 . The method of claim 281 , wherein the volume of the fluid sample is about 5 μL, the dilution of the fluid sample is a dilution of about 1:10000 and detecting the presence of bacterial growth in the dilution is indicative of a bacterial concentration of 10 5 or greater colony forming units (CFU)/mL in the fluid sample.

283 . The method of claim 281 , wherein the fluid sample is jejunal fluid and a bacterial concentration of 10 5 CFU/mL or greater in the jejunal fluid is indicative that the subject has Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).

284 . A device, comprising:

a chamber configured to dilute a fluid sample from the GI tract or the reproductive tract of a subject; and

a dilution chamber configured to house dilution fluid to dilute the fluid sample in the dilution chamber,

wherein the device is an ingestible device.