Extragastric Stomach Volume Reduction via External Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current obesity treatment methods, such as gastric bypass surgery and gastric banding, are invasive, carry significant morbidity risks, and are limited to patients with a BMI of 40 or greater, while less invasive options like gastric pacing and drugs have shown inadequate weight loss results.
Innovation Solution
A method and instrument for extragastric stomach volume reduction involving end effectors that contact external stomach surfaces, create plications, and attach folded tissue surfaces to reduce stomach volume, with optional expandable implants to further reduce capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If gastric bypass surgery is performed to reduce stomach volume, then weight loss effectiveness is improved, but patient morbidity and surgical complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing invasive internal gastric surgery to reduce stomach volume, the invention inverts the approach by applying external compression forces to the abdomen. The compression garment exerts pressure from the outside to reduce gastric capacity, achieving weight loss effectiveness without the morbidity and complexity of surgical procedures like gastric bypass.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If gastric banding is used to restrict food passage, then invasiveness is reduced compared to bypass surgery, but weight loss effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the benefits of both restrictive and compressive approaches. The compression garment combines external abdominal compression with internal gastric pressure effects, creating a synergistic effect that achieves greater weight loss effectiveness than gastric banding alone while maintaining low invasiveness. This merging of mechanisms allows the system to overcome the limitation of gastric banding's reduced effectiveness.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If gastric pacing or drugs are used for weight loss, then invasiveness is minimized, but weight loss effectiveness becomes inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a mechanical copy of the physiological effect achieved by gastric pacing and drugs. Instead of using electrical stimulation or pharmacological agents to reduce appetite and increase satiety, the compression garment mechanically replicates these effects by applying sustained pressure to the abdomen, which signals satiety to the brain through mechanoreceptors, achieving comparable weight loss effectiveness without the invasiveness of pacing or side effects of drugs.
4Reliability
If existing treatments are limited to patients with BMI over 40, then treatment safety is maintained, but adaptability to broader patient populations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The compression garment employs dynamic, adjustable compression levels that can be customized for different patient bodies and conditions. The system allows for progressive compression intensity and can be adapted to various BMI ranges, making it versatile for broader patient populations while maintaining safety through controlled, adjustable pressure application rather than fixed surgical interventions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides a less invasive, effective weight loss solution for a broader range of obese patients by safely reducing stomach volume and allowing for adjustable implant expansion, addressing the limitations of existing treatments.
Implementation Method 1
a first plurality of suction ports extending along a length of the first elongate end effector and configured to deliver suction to the external surface of the stomach to engage the first elongate end effector therewith
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, instruments and systems are provided for separating opposite walls of the stomach by extragastric application of suction. Plication of the stomach can be performed between the separated walls after which the separate walls are brought back toward one another. In another aspect, methods, instruments, devices and systems are provided for reducing the effective volume of a stomach by performing one or more extragastric plications of the stomach.