Self-Expanding Bariatric Device for Non-Invasive Weight Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical methods for weight loss, such as gastric bypass and gastric banding, are invasive and carry significant risks, with a need for less invasive or non-invasive devices that can induce substantial weight loss without complications.
Innovation Solution
A bariatric device that engages the upper and lower regions of the stomach by applying pressure around the cardiac opening, using a cardiac element and a positioning element to stimulate stretch receptors and induce satiety, constructed from materials like Nitinol and polymers that can be self-expanding and acid-resistant, allowing for placement and deployment within the stomach without sutures or fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical procedures such as gastric bypass or gastric banding are used, then substantial and lasting weight loss is achieved, but the procedures are invasive and carry significant surgical risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces surgical mechanical intervention (incisions, sutures, implants) with a purely mechanical pressure-based system. The bariatric device uses elastic memory alloy structures that automatically expand to apply controlled pressure on the stomach, substituting surgical procedures with a non-invasive mechanical action that stimulates satiety receptors without cutting or permanent alteration of stomach anatomy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a bariatric device as an intermediary between the patient's natural satiety mechanism and the need for weight loss. Rather than directly altering stomach structure through surgery, the device acts as a mediator that applies pressure to stimulate existing stretch receptors, thereby activating the body's natural satiety response without invasive intervention
2Reliability
If gastric bypass is performed to create a small pouch, then weight loss is achieved, but the procedure is highly invasive with known complications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of gastric bypass (restricting stomach volume to induce satiety) without implementing the invasive surgical procedure. Instead of removing or altering stomach tissue, the invention extracts only the pressure-application function and achieves it through a removable, non-surgical device that temporarily occupies stomach space
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and parameters of the bariatric device dynamically. The elastic memory alloy structure transitions from a compressed delivery state to an expanded functional state within the stomach. The device can also be adjusted or removed, changing its presence and pressure parameters, thereby achieving weight loss effects without permanent surgical modification
3Reliability
If gastric banding is used to segment the stomach, then weight loss is achieved, but the procedure is invasive despite being reversible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the mechanical band-wrapping procedure with a self-expanding elastic structure. Instead of placing a rigid or semi-rigid band around the stomach, the invention uses a memory alloy framework that self-expands to fill and pressure the stomach cavity, replacing the banding mechanism with a more compliant, less invasive pressure distribution system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic characteristics to the bariatric treatment approach. The device can be inserted, expanded, adjusted, and removed without surgery. The elastic memory alloy structure dynamically adapts to stomach movements and filling, maintaining pressure contact while allowing natural stomach function, thereby achieving reversibility and ease of operation beyond what fixed gastric bands provide
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 induces weight loss by replicating natural stomach pressures and stimulating satiety responses, providing a less invasive and reversible option for weight management with reduced risk of complications.
Implementation Method 1
applying force or pressure on or around the cardiac opening or gastroesophogeal (GE) junction and upper stomach
Implementation Method 2
constructed from materials like Nitinol and polymers that can be self-expanding
Data Source
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AI summary
A bariatric device for use in inducing weight loss, comprising a cardiac element, a pyloric element, and a connecting element between the two other elements, wherein the connecting element provides structure between the cardiac and pyloric elements, keeping them largely in place and at least intermittently touching and applying pressure to the stomach's cardiac, adjacent fundic and pyloric regions, respectively, which produces a satiety signal to the user, giving the recipient a feeling of fullness and reducing his or her hunger feelings.