Weight Loss Aid

A new battery-free, implantable device could someday help millions of adults and children shed pounds. In laboratory testing on rats, it reduced body weight by nearly 40 percent. The tiny device measures less than one centimeter across and can be implanted via a minimally invasive procedure.

Automatically responding to the body’s own functions, the device’s internal generators are powered by the undulations of the stomach’s natural churning motions to deliver electrical pulses to the vagus nerve. This gentle stimulation sends signals to the brain that the stomach is full, but is only triggered when the stomach is moving. And unlike gastric bypass, in which the capacity of the stomach is permanently reduced, the procedure is totally reversible.

An existing device for vagal nerve stimulation consists of a bulky control unit and battery that requires recharging multiple times a week for about an hour. The developers expect that the new system will be more effective and convenient to use. They are planning to begin testing in larger animals and hope to move forward with human trials in the future.