Device · Cell Press · 2025
DOI 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904
Passive intestinal microbiome sampling using an ingestible device with tortuous lattices
Mohammed H. et al. — Ramadi Lab, NYU Abu Dhabi & NYU Tandon
Read the paper
20–22 October 2026 · ADNEC, Abu Dhabi
Meet the Corealis team at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit
Upper-GI microbiome intelligence
Stool is the last stop, not the whole story.
Corealis samples the small intestine with CORAL — a swallowable, battery-free capsule invented at NYU Abu Dhabi — and turns the upper gut into data that researchers, clinicians and partners can finally use.
- Phase I human safety study completed (US)
- Published in Device, 2025
- PCT patent filed
CORAL · human capsule
3D-printed in Abu Dhabi
3.5×
phylum-level diversity captured vs. stool
1,000+
capsules fabricated in-house at NYUAD
The diagnostic gap
Eight metres of gut. We’ve only been reading the last stop.
The gut microbiome is linked to metabolic, immune, cardiovascular, neurological and gastrointestinal disease. But the upper GI tract — where nutrients are absorbed and the immune system meets our microbes — has been nearly impossible to sample. We cannot optimise what we cannot measure.
Endoscopy
Reaches it — at a cost
Invasive, sedated, clinic-bound — and only a localised snapshot. Impossible to repeat at population scale.
Stool tests
Easy — but end-of-gut only
Mostly reflects the distal colon. A poor proxy for what happens in the small intestine.
CORAL
Non-invasive and upper-GI
Swallowed like a pill, sampling in the small intestine — the reach of endoscopy with the ease of a stool kit.
How it works
Swallow a CORAL.
CORAL — Cellularly Organized Repeating Lattice — is inspired by the porous skeletons of marine corals. Its engineered, tortuous pores trap bacteria as the capsule travels through the small intestine.
Passive
No moving parts or electronics
Precise
Mathematically engineered pores
Powerful
Scalable 3D printing
-
01
Ingest
Swallowed like a pill. No sedation, no clinic visit.
-
02
Sample
The lattice traps bacteria in the small intestine.
-
03
Recover
The capsule exits naturally and is collected with a simple kit.
-
04
Analyse
DNA/RNA sequencing and bioinformatics.
-
05
Report
Upper-gut insight that feeds research, care and recommendations.
Why CORAL
Radically simple. Built to scale.
Upper-GI sampling only changes medicine if it can reach thousands of people, not dozens. CORAL was designed for that from the first print.
Nothing to break
The sampler is the geometry itself — one printed lattice with no electronics, batteries, valves or moving parts.
Low cost at scale
Single-step 3D printing keeps unit cost low — over 1,000 capsules already made in-house — so cohort-sized studies become realistic.
Tested in people
Peer-reviewed in Device, with a Phase I first-in-human safety study completed in the US.
Rooted in the region
Invented and made in Abu Dhabi, building the upper-GI reference data the MENA region has never had.
The platform
From one capsule to a map of the upper gut.
The capsule is how we collect. The value is what we learn: the first accurate map of the upper-GI microbiome — starting with MENA reference data that doesn’t exist today.
Population health
Define “normal”
Baselines and surveillance for national health initiatives.
Clinical care
Identify “at risk”
Spot imbalances before intervention, and track treatment response.
Wellness & longevity
Generate “optimal”
Preserve the golden state of health with proactive monitoring.
Pharma & nutrition
Measure where it acts
Microbiome–drug interactions, prebiotics and probiotics.
“We envision a world where the gut microbiome is no longer a black box, but a dashboard for human healthspan.”
The science
Peer-reviewed. Phase I safety study completed.
In preclinical studies published in Device, CORAL captured small-intestine communities that differed sharply from paired stool — enriched for upper-gut bacteria such as Lactobacillus. We have since scaled the capsule to human size and completed a Phase I safety study in the US.
Research pipeline
- Colorectal cancer models
- Short-chain fatty acid metabolites
- Oral microbiome
- Microbiome–drug interactions
- Prebiotics & probiotics
Progress
From the lab bench to first-in-human.
- Technology · Done 1,000+ capsules fabricated Single-step 3D printing at NYUAD
- Animal models · Done Validated in rodents Published in Device, 2025
- Patent · Filed PCT/US2025/015744 International application
- Phase I · Completed First-in-human safety study First-in-human trial, US
- Phase II · Next UAE clinical studies Proposal with two UAE hospitals
Supported by
NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Tandon
StartAD · HealthX 2 winner
Abu Dhabi Department of Health
Why the UAE first
Made in Abu Dhabi, for a healthier region.
Made in UAEDesigned and fabricated at NYU Abu Dhabi.
MENA microbiome dataThe chance to build the region’s first accurate upper-GI reference data.
Preventive healthAligned with the national focus on lifestyle disease prevention.
Precision medicineSupporting the UAE’s push for personalised care, in line with Vision 2031.
Team
Engineers of the inner body.
Hanan Mohammed, PhD
Lead Translational Researcher & Co-founder
Associate Research Scientist, NYU Abu Dhabi. Nanomaterials and applied engineering devices — Leeds, Sheffield, KAUST.
Prof. Khalil Ramadi, PhD
Principal Investigator & Co-founder
Co-Director, Center for Translational Medical Devices, NYUAD. Mechanical and medical engineering — MIT, Harvard Medical School; Forbes 30 Under 30.
Collaborations & partnerships
Let’s map the gut’s missing half — together.
We’re working with hospitals, research groups, population-health programmes and industry on our next studies. Meet us at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, or reach out any time.
Dr. Hanan Mohammed · hanan.mohammed@corealishealth.com