Segmented Gastric Volume Implant to Prevent Acid Damage and Obstruction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing obesity treatment methods, such as gastric banding and inflatable gastric devices, face challenges including short-term effectiveness due to destruction by stomach acids and risk of obstruction in the patient's intestine.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising two or more volume filling device segments that form an implantable volume filling device, designed to be invaginated by the stomach wall, providing a controlled size reduction of the food cavity and disassembling if it inadvertently penetrates the stomach wall to prevent obstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If a balloon-like object is inserted into the stomach to provide satiety, then the patient feels full more quickly, but the device is destroyed by stomach acids within a couple of months
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into multiple segments that can separate from each other. When the device penetrates the stomach wall, the segments automatically separate and can pass through the gastrointestinal tract without causing obstruction, while the main body remains protected against acid destruction
Solution Approach 2:
The volume filling device segments are designed to be nested within each other or within a delivery system, allowing them to be inserted through a gastroscopic instrument and then deployed in sequence within the stomach wall, protecting them from immediate acid exposure while enabling controlled deployment
2Reliability
If a large volume filling device is used to reduce food cavity volume, then satiety is achieved more effectively, but the device may cause obstruction if it penetrates the stomach wall
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented so that if penetration occurs, the segments can separate and pass through the intestine individually without causing complete obstruction, maintaining safety while allowing the use of a sufficiently large device for effective satiety
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of designing a device that must remain intact, the invention inverts the approach by designing a device that is intentionally designed to disassemble under specific conditions (penetration), transforming the potential harm of penetration into a safety feature
3Reliability
If an inflatable balloon device is used to compress the stomach, then satiety is produced, but the device requires complex inflation mechanisms and adjusting ports
Solution Approach 1:
The complex inflation mechanism and adjusting port are extracted from the main device body and placed outside the patient's body or in a separate subcutaneous component, simplifying the implanted device while maintaining the ability to inflate and adjust the volume filling device
Solution Approach 2:
A separate inflation system acts as an intermediary between the external world and the implanted device, allowing complex functions (inflation, deflation, adjustment) to be performed externally without requiring complex mechanisms within the implanted device itself
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for treating obesity comprises a volume filling device formed by at least two segments and is provided and following implantation, the device is placed resting against the stomach wall of the patient to reduce the inner volume of the stomach, thereby affecting the patient's appetite.