Non-inflatable gastric implants and systems
First Claim
1. A passive intragastric obesity treatment implant, comprising:
- a series of non-inflatable members each having a through bore, each of the members having a male and a female mating connector which permits each member to connect with another member, each of the members being sized such that it can be easily implanted and removed through the esophagus, the members together capable of taking up volume within the stomach of at least 400 ml and being made of a material that will resist degradation over a period of at least six months within the stomach; and
a tether sized to pass through the through bores of the non-inflatable members, a distal end of the tether attaching to a distal one of the non-inflatable members such that the members can be pulled together by pulling the tether taut to cause the male and female mating connectors to couple, thus forming a relatively solid structure, wherein the male and female mating connectors of the members are configured such that the relatively solid structure formed after pulling the tether taut is a non-straight shape, and wherein adjacent non-inflatable members in the series include features that cause the adjacent non-inflatable members to couple with each other in a predefined orientation relative to each other and without being able to move freely relative to one another.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A variety of passive intragastric implant devices for obesity treatment are disclosed. Such passive devices do not autonomously change shape, but instead react within the stomach to induce satiety. The devices may take up volume within the stomach, thus reducing the intake capacity. Additionally, the devices may contact areas within the stomach, such as the cardia surrounding the esophageal sphincter, or the greater and lesser curvatures in the middle of the stomach, to stimulate satiety-inducing nerves. Some devices may combine two or more of these satiety-inducing features. Methods of implant are disclosed including compressing the devices within a delivery tube and transorally advancing the devices through the esophagus to be deployed within the stomach. Removal of the devices occurs in the reverse.
271 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A passive intragastric obesity treatment implant, comprising:
a series of non-inflatable members each having a through bore, each of the members having a male and a female mating connector which permits each member to connect with another member, each of the members being sized such that it can be easily implanted and removed through the esophagus, the members together capable of taking up volume within the stomach of at least 400 ml and being made of a material that will resist degradation over a period of at least six months within the stomach; and
a tether sized to pass through the through bores of the non-inflatable members, a distal end of the tether attaching to a distal one of the non-inflatable members such that the members can be pulled together by pulling the tether taut to cause the male and female mating connectors to couple, thus forming a relatively solid structure, wherein the male and female mating connectors of the members are configured such that the relatively solid structure formed after pulling the tether taut is a non-straight shape, and wherein adjacent non-inflatable members in the series include features that cause the adjacent non-inflatable members to couple with each other in a predefined orientation relative to each other and without being able to move freely relative to one another.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A passive intragastric obesity treatment implant, consisting of:
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a plurality of identically-shaped, non-inflatable members linked in series, each of the members being sized such that it can be easily implanted and removed through the esophagus, and being made of a material that will resist degradation over a period of at least six months within the stomach, wherein the series of members are configured to assume a particular non-straight shape when the series is placed under serial compression; and a tether configured to apply serial compression to the series of members, wherein the non-inflatable members each include a male mating connector and a female mating connector which permits each member to connect with another member. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A passive intragastric obesity treatment implant, comprising:
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a series of non-inflatable members each having a through bore, the members each having a male and a female mating connector which permits each member to connect with another member, each of the members being sized such that it can be easily implanted and removed through the esophagus, the members together capable of taking up volume within the stomach of at least 400 ml and being made of a material that will resist degradation over a period of at least six months within the stomach; and a tether sized to pass through the through bores of the non-inflatable members, a distal end of the tether attaching to a distal one of the non-inflatable members such that the members can be pulled together by pulling the tether taut to cause the male and female mating connectors to couple, thus forming a relatively solid structure, wherein each of the non-inflatable members comprises a spherical body having an opening on one side centered about a radial axis and leading to an internal cavity, and a nipple projecting from another side. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification