Feedback systems and methods for communicating diagnostic and/or treatment signals to enhance obesity treatments

Abstract

Feedback systems and methods communicate implanted sensor-based feedback signals to promote behavior modifications that ameliorate obesity and other eating disorders. The system and methods described may also be applicable to any treatment in which presenting feedback regarding patients' eating and exercise habits is desired. The present invention provides a method and system for treating a patient by collecting ingestion and exercise information about the patient from an implanted sensor and communicating the collected information to the patient, his or her physician and / or other health care providers. In some embodiments, stimulation of the patient's stomach is also provided to reduce caloric intake. In some embodiments, the collected data is transmitted to a central server. Further embodiments may provide access to additional information in conjunction with the collected patient information, such as a calorie database, an exercise planner, and so forth, with the data optionally being used within a social networking system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 166,636 filed Apr. 3, 2009; the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.[0002]The subject matter of the present application is also related to the following applications: U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 145,430 filed Jun. 24, 2008, U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 950,345 filed Sep. 23, 2004 (Allowed), and U.S. Application No. 61 / 122,315 filed Dec. 12, 2008; all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Since the mid-seventies, the prevalence of obesity has increased sharply for both adults and children. These increasing rates raise concern because of their implications for Americans' health. Being overweight or obese may increase the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including: hypertension, dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The present invention relates to feedback systems and methods for modifying volitional behavior by a patient, in exemplary embodiments by communicating diagnostic and / or treatment signals to enhance obesity treatments. Although embodiments of the invention make specific reference to treatment for obesity, the system and methods described herein may be applicable to other treatments seeking patient behavior modification, and particularly eating disorders and other disorders in which presenting feedback regarding patients' actual eating and / or exercise habits is desired. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for treating a patient by collecting ingestion and exercise information about the patient from an implanted sensor and presenting the sensor-based information to the patient, his or her physician, members of a support group, and / or other health care providers. The presentation of the information may include graphically or verbally communicating the information to the patient using an automated graphical or audio output, and / or the information can be communicated to a health coach such as a physician, lifestyle coach, or other support group member who then communicates to the patient. Hence, the sensor-based information can provide accurate and reliable behavior-modification feedback to the patient. In some embodiments, stimulation of the patient's stomach is also provided to reduce caloric intake, with or without presentation of information regarding that stimulation to the patient. In some embodiments, the collected data is transmitted to a central server or centralized data collection mechanism via a telecommunication system. Further embodiments may provide access to additional information in conjunction with the collected patient information, such as a calorie database, an exercise planner, and so forth. In many embodiments, implanted sensor-based information may be accessed via a server by any member of a group having an appropriate permission granted by the patient in which the sensor is implanted. Hence, exemplary systems may employ aspects of social networking to enhance the efficacy of the feedback provided to a patient, thereby taking advantage of the relationships within the network to improve the health of the patient.

[0008]In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method of treating a patient. The method includes implanting a device in the body of the patient, where the implanted device includes at least one sensor. Patient data is collected with the sensor(s) in response to ingestion by the patient and in response to activity by the patient. The patient data is analyzed to determine ingestion and activity information about the patient, and the ingestion and activity information is presented so as to promote healthy behavior by the patient.

[0013]In some embodiments, the eating and exercise information is provided to at least one of the patient, a physician of the patient, a nutritionist of the patient, a member of a support group to which the patient belongs, or another health coach of the patient so as to facilitate feedback to the patient regarding his or her actual eating and exercise behavior to help modify the actual behavior toward a healthy behavior.

[0019]In a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method of communicating patient diagnostic and treatment information. The method includes obtaining sensor data from at least one sensor implanted in a patient, where the sensor data is collected by the sensor(s) at intervals over a period of time. The sensor data is presented to a user via a graphical interface so as to promote sensor-based behavior modification of the patient.

[0031]In many embodiments, the patient will belong to a support group of patients having implanted sensors. In such embodiments, additional messages may be transmitted to the patient regarding the sensed data from another member of the group. For example, in an obesity support group in which more than one member has an implant that can sense ingestion and / or exercise, one member having an implant may receive messages regarding sensed data from an implant of another member. This allows the support group members to encourage each other toward healthy behavior, and to discourage each other away from excessive eating, failure to meet exercise goals, or the like.

Problems solved by technology

Being overweight or obese may increase the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including: hypertension, dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides), type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and some cancers (such as endometrial, breast, and colon).

Medical costs associated with excess weight and obesity may involve direct and indirect costs.

Mortality costs are the value of future income lost by premature death.

To date, the widely used obesity treatments have not been shown to be ideal, particularly for those afflicted with severe obesity.

Unfortunately, patient compliance and the accuracy with which patients report their own activities can significantly limit the effectiveness of coaching and support groups.

While surgical approaches can limit the capacity of the patient's food intake over a set amount of time regardless of compliance, quite severe surgical modifications may have to be imposed to achieve the desired result.

Notwithstanding that, as a group, obese patients may be highly motivated to find a solution to help them lose weight and to improve their health, obese individuals will often exhibit behavior which circumvents or limits the efficacy of therapies so that effective surgical approaches may have to significantly restrict gastrointestinal function, while more moderate approaches may not achieve the desired results.

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