Medical

Externally powered implant designed to treat obesity

Externally powered implant designed to treat obesity
Asst. Prof. Sung Il Park with the prototype implant
Asst. Prof. Sung Il Park with the prototype implant
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A closer view of the device
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A closer view of the device
Asst. Prof. Sung Il Park with the prototype implant
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Asst. Prof. Sung Il Park with the prototype implant

When an obese person really needs to lose weight, gastric bypass surgery is sometimes performed – but it's quite an invasive procedure. An experimental new implant, however, may produce similar results with much less fuss.

Developed at Texas A&M University by a team led by Asst. Prof. Sung Il Park, the "paddle-shaped" device is about 1 cm long (0.4 in). It has micro LEDs at its flexible tip, along with a coil antenna and special microchips in its base. This setup allows the device to receive incoming radio waves, which are converted to an electrical current that powers the LEDs.

A closer view of the device
A closer view of the device

In what is described as a relatively simple procedure, the implant is surgically inserted into the stomach, where it's anchored adjacent to endings of the vagus nerve. This nerve allows the brain to communicate with various organs, including the stomach.

When an external transmitter emits a radio signal of the appropriate frequency, the implant receives the radio waves, causing its micro LEDs to illuminate. The light proceeds to stimulate the nerve endings, sending a signal to the brain that produces a feeling of "fullness." As a result, the patient doesn't feel hungry, so they eat less.

And although there are already other implants that give patients a full feeling by stimulating the vagus nerve, they're more like pacemakers, in that they incorporate wires that lead to an attached power source. Because the new device is externally powered, it's much smaller and thus easier to implant. That said, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a battery-free implant that's powered by stomach movements.

The A&M technology has so far been successfully tested on mice. It is described in a paper that was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

Source: Texas A&M University

3 comments
3 comments
guzmanchinky
What a simple solution! I have a sister in law who could really use this...
wolf0579
Why not use the FDA to police to food system, and remove all of the known harmful products from the US food chain. Let people drink water again, instead of HFCS packed sodas. Our food delivery system is systematically killing us!
mediabeing
Well, it's nice, but people don't eat just because they feel hungry.
If anything, we need a little device that generates a sense of mild nausea.
Even better yet, something that can effectively manage Leptin and Ghrelin hormones. Keep trying, you brilliant inventors, you!