Intra-oral Device for Weight Management via Chewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for weight management, such as appetite suppression pills and surgical alterations, are ineffective in providing long-term solutions due to psychological factors influencing overeating and the impracticality of self-administration or high morbidity rates.
Innovation Solution
An intra-oral device with a resiliently deformable protuberance is worn over the teeth, allowing users to chew on it to satisfy appetite without consuming calories, thereby modulating eating behavior and providing sensory feedback to regulate feeding behaviors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If appetite suppression pills are used, then appetite is reduced, but user compliance and long-term effectiveness deteriorate due to psychological factors and side effects
Solution Approach 1:
The intra-oral device serves as an intermediary between the user's psychological need to chew/eat and the goal of appetite suppression. By providing a physical object to chew on that doesn't involve actual food consumption, it mediates the conflict between psychological cravings and weight management goals, improving long-term compliance without the harmful side effects of pharmaceutical interventions.
Solution Approach 2:
The device enables self-administration without requiring medical supervision or complex regimens. Users simply insert and remove the device themselves, eliminating the compliance issues associated with prescription medications that require doctor visits, monitoring, and adherence to strict dosing schedules.
2Reliability
If surgical alterations are performed, then appetite suppression is achieved, but morbidity and practicality deteriorate due to high risk and inability of self-administration
Solution Approach 1:
The intra-oral device functions as a temporary, non-invasive alternative to permanent surgical modifications. It provides effective appetite suppression during periods of use without causing irreversible anatomical changes or the high morbidity associated with surgical procedures, allowing users to discontinue use without long-term health consequences.
Solution Approach 2:
The device acts as a temporary intermediary solution that achieves appetite suppression without requiring permanent surgical alteration of the gastrointestinal tract. It provides the desired effect during usage periods while avoiding the harmful factors and irreversible changes associated with surgical interventions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If emotional eating occurs, then psychological needs are satisfied, but calorie consumption and weight gain increase
Solution Approach 1:
The intra-oral device serves as an intermediary that satisfies the psychological urge to chew and oral fixation without introducing caloric substances. It allows users to engage in chewing behavior for emotional comfort while preventing the actual consumption of food calories, thereby decoupling psychological satisfaction from caloric intake.
Solution Approach 2:
The device extracts the chewing action from the food consumption process. By providing a non-caloric object to chew on, it separates the beneficial psychological aspect of chewing (satisfying emotional needs) from the harmful aspect (calorie intake), allowing users to retain the comforting behavior without the negative consequences.
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
The device effectively reduces appetite and aids in weight management by providing a non-caloric means to satisfy the desire to eat, enhancing satiety feedback and pleasure, thus promoting weight loss and maintenance without the drawbacks of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
The intra-oral device may then be chewed on so as to deform a protuberance
Data Source
AI summary
An intra-oral device for weight management includes a carrier having a resiliently deformable protuberance on its outer surface. The protuberance may comprise a bite-pad having a height that varies along its length, with the apex being aligned with a first molar of a dental arch of the user. The protuberance may comprise a planar ridge structured and arranged to increase resistance to lateral movement of the user's jaw during a normal chewing cycle. Multiple resiliently deformable protuberances may include a bite-pad and a planar ridge on a buccal side of the bite-pad. Either or both of the bite-pad and planar ridge may be provided with an uneven, textured exterior surface. A method for promoting weight management may include positioning the carrier over an arch of teeth of the user instead of eating. The method may further include chewing on the carrier so as to deform the protuberance.