Spectroscopically directed metabolic profiling has the potential to enhance current capabilities in patient stratification. Examples of the contribution of metabolic profiling to disease diagnostics and prognostics as applied to liver and digestive diseases are widely present in the literature. Metabolic profiling provides insights about the function of gut bacteria, which are known to be involved in a wide range of pathologies including IBD, obesity, fatty liver and colorectal cancer. Surgical metabonomics centred on mass-spectrometry-linked intelligent surgical devices have the potential to deliver clinically relevant chemical information in real-time to augment clinical decision-making. Disease risk and treatment response are determined, at the individual level, by a complex history of genetic and environmental interactions, including those with our endogenous microbiomes. Personalized health care requires a deep understanding of patient biology that can now be measured using a range of '-omics' technologies. Patient stratification involves the identification of genetic and/or phenotypic disease subclasses that require different therapeutic strategies. Stratified medicine approaches to disease diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response monitoring herald a new dimension in patient care. Here, we explore the potential value of metabolic profiling as applied to unmet clinical needs in gastroenterology and hepatology. We describe potential applications in a number of diseases, with emphasis on large-scale population studies as well as metabolic profiling on the individual level, using spectrometric and imaging technologies that will leverage the discovery of mechanistic information and deliver novel health care solutions to improve clinical pathway management.

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