HealthDay News posted an article this week about a new weight loss device that sends tiny impulses to nerves to signal fullness sooner. The device is meant for people who do not meet the weight standards for bariatric surgery, but struggle with their weight. The device is not yet approved for use in the United States. It is called “abiliti” and is made by California-based IntraPace. According to the company, the device is “implanted in the stomach during a one-hour laparoscopic procedure via small insertions in the abdominal wall. Once in place, the device uses its food-detection sensor to sense whenever a patient eats or drinks. This prompts it to emit low energy electrical pulses to nerves that trigger a feeling of rapid fullness.”
In a study of the device, participants consumed an average of 45 percent less food daily and lost an average of 22 percent of their excess weight within a year of implantation. According to the article, IntraPace realizes that gastric bypass surgery currently produces even more dramatic results, with patients typically a 50 percent to 60 percent loss of excess weight within a year. Gastric banding typically results in between 34 percent and 38 percent weight loss during the first year post-surgery. However, the company also points out that the more invasive bypass and banding surgeries come with more risks while, so far, the pacemaker surgery has prompted no deaths and no major side effects in those who have received it.
You can read HealthDay’s article here.
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