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Weight gain and obesity has become an alarming condition of concern. If you have been sailing along on a similar boat struggling with weight gain, there is a possible way to combat the situation and the new study might be an answer to it.
If statistics are to be believed, over 700 million people around the world suffer from obesity and the numbers are constantly on the rise with every passing minute. A new invention (R) has recently been reported to be made by two graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This new battery free implantable device is believed to nip the problem at the bud, preventing the induction of any form of hunger pangs and thus aiding in gradual weight loss.
During the lab testing on the rat, the conclusions were drastic. The implanted device did help in shedding off about 40% of the body weight which is pretty amazing. The device is less than a centimeter across and is pretty amazing in terms of its effectiveness and safety. The device is completely safe for the body and can be implanted inside with the aid of minimally invasive procedures.
If you are wondering how it works, it is dependent on the churning motions made by the stomach. The device successfully generates gentle electric pulses from the naturally occurring churning motions inside the stomach and these electric impulses are then pushed through to the Vagus nerve which indefinitely links the brain and the stomach.
The stimulation that succeeds the process is what helps the brain into thinking that the stomach is necessarily full just after a few bites of the food.
Xudong Wang, a UW-Madison professor of materials science and engineering who is also the author of the study stated that these produced electrical impulses correlate to the motions of the stomach and in turn, helps in enhancing the body’s natural response to help control the intake of the food.
This device is amazing for weight loss journey because the effects of this device are retractable meaning they can be stopped and taken out whenever required. In gastric bypass, the process does extensively alter the overall capacity of the stomach but that is not necessarily the case with this device.
Wang and his colleagues did remove the device from the rat after 12 weeks and they noticed that the rat did resume back to its original eating habits gradually with no issues at all. The process accompanied proper weight gain.
The main benefit behind this specific device is the fact that it does directly stimulate the Vagus nerve to generate signals which is pretty effective on its own. The device, which has been named as “Maestro” has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the year of 2015. The device mainly does sends stimulation to the Vagus nerve to put a halt to the interactions between the stomach and brain.
Luke Funk, a surgery professor in UW-Madison’s Division of Minimally Invasive, Foregut and Bariatric Surgery stated that the ongoing process of maintenance can end up being a barrier in the process of usage but the device does have its own set of positive aspects too. He further stated saying that one of the most important and crucial point of this process is the fact that it doesn’t necessarily require a separate external battery charging.
The device invented by Wang is a complete opposite to what you would necessarily consider. It doesn’t have any kind of wiring or even batteries. The entire device is fueled by the convulsions in the stomach. It is dependent on the undulations of the stomach to power through the internal generators.
The main conclusion behind the same is the fact that the device is only stimulated when the stomach moves. Wang further clarified stating that the thing is dependent on the automatic response of the body.
Wang and his colleagues have already patented the device through the through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and are on the go to test the device out on the larger animals. If the trials are successful, chances are that they might end up using them for clinical trials to look around for its effectiveness. The main aim of Wang is to ensure that the device is not just effective for weight loss but easier to use in comparison to the other available technologies.