Intragastric device

Inventors

Brister, Mark C. • Faucher, Paul D. • Drake, Neil R. • Rasdal, Andrew P. • Lake, Matthew S. • Markovic, Dubravka • VandenBerg, Amy D. L. • Llevares, Antonio C. • Nider, Josefina

Assignees

Medtimo Inc

Abstract

Devices and methods for treating obesity are provided. More particularly, intragastric devices and methods of fabricating, deploying, inflating, monitoring, and retrieving the same are provided.

Core Innovation

The invention provides an orally ingestible intragastric balloon system for obesity that includes a capsule configured to be swallowable by a patient by normal peristalsis and to degrade in a gastric environment. A balloon is compacted and contained within the swallowable capsule, and the balloon includes an outer surface, an inner surface, an interior cavity, a fill valve, and a release valve, with the fill valve and the release valve being separate valves.

After the patient swallows the capsule, a catheter is coupled to the fill valve, and a first portion of the catheter remains outside the patient’s mouth while a second portion remains in the patient. The catheter delivers a saline liquid through the fill valve to the interior cavity of the balloon to inflate the balloon in the patient’s stomach, and after inflating the balloon the catheter is detached from the fill valve while the fill valve self-seals after detachment.

Deflation is controlled via the release valve. At least a degradable portion of the release valve degrades in an internal environment of the interior cavity when saline liquid is in the interior cavity and is in contact with the degradable portion, such that degradation opens the release valve to allow saline liquid to travel from the interior cavity into the gastric environment, thereby deflating the balloon. The release valve comprises a moisture absorbing expandable portion.

Claims Coverage

The provided set includes one independent claim with five inventive features: a swallowable degradable capsule, a balloon with separate fill and release valves, saline-based inflation using a catheter that self-seals after detachment, saline-contact degradation of a release valve portion to open the release valve and deflate the balloon, and a moisture absorbing expandable portion in the release valve.

Across the independent claim, coverage centers on an intragastric balloon system where a degradable swallowable capsule carries a balloon with separate fill and release valves; a detachable catheter inflates the balloon with saline via a self-sealing fill valve; and deflation is triggered by degradation of a degradable release valve portion in contact with saline in the balloon interior cavity, with the release valve including a moisture absorbing expandable portion.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications