CONTROLLED DEGRADATION OF EXPANDABLE POLYMERS IN GASTRIC VOLUME REDUCTION TREATMENT
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An orally administrable polymer-carrying unit for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying unit comprising:
- (a) a carrier;
(b) a plurality of polymer molecules, expandable in the presence of an aqueous solution, releasably coupled to the carrier; and
(c) a decoupler to decouple the polymer molecules from the carrier so that the polymer molecules and carrier are released in the stomach.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Orally administrable polymer-carrying units for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying units including: a carrier; a plurality of polymer molecules expandable in aqueous solutions, releasably coupled to the carrier; and means for selectively decoupling the polymer molecules from the carrier so that the polymer molecules and carrier are released in the stomach, are provided.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. An orally administrable polymer-carrying unit for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying unit comprising:
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(a) a carrier; (b) a plurality of polymer molecules, expandable in the presence of an aqueous solution, releasably coupled to the carrier; and (c) a decoupler to decouple the polymer molecules from the carrier so that the polymer molecules and carrier are released in the stomach. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 27, 28, 38)
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3. (canceled)
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7. (canceled)
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12. An orally administrable polymer-carrying unit for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying unit comprising:
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(a) a carrier having at least one outer surface; (b) at least one coupling member having a first surface and a second surface; (c) a plurality of polymer molecules, expandable in the presence of an aqueous solution, associated with the first surface of the coupling member; (d) a coupling means for releasably coupling the second surface of the coupling member to the outer surface of the carrier; and (e) a decoupling means for selectively decoupling the coupling member from the carrier. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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15. (canceled)
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29. (canceled)
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30. (canceled)
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31. An orally administrable polymer-carrying unit for expanding in a stomach of a mammal to fill a space in the stomach, the polymer-carrying unit comprising:
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(a) a carrier having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface forming an internal cavity; (b) at least one fiber for releasably supporting at least one sac, the at least one sac containing at least one polymer molecule, the fiber being threaded into or through the internal cavity of the carrier so that at least one segment of the fiber is located within the internal cavity; (c) a decoupler located in the internal cavity to decouple the at least one sac from the carrier by cutting the internal segment of the fiber so that the sac is released. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. (canceled)
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37. (canceled)
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39. A unit for expanding in situ, comprising:
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(a) a carrier; (b) at least one expandable module releasably coupled to the carrier; and (c) a decoupler to selectively decouple the at least one module from the carrier when the unit is in situ. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A unit for expanding in situ, comprising:
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(a) a carrier; (b) a plurality of expandable modules releasably coupled to the carrier; and (c) a decoupler to selectively decouple at least one module from at least one other of the modules when the unit is in situ. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification