“We have developed an implantable device to stimulate the vagus nerve (or pneumogastric nerve) with the aim of reducing food consumption”, says Professor Xudong Wang to the site Guizbot, specialist in nanoelectric systems He and his team have developed a device that allows people suffering from obesity to reduce the feeling of hunger. Stuck in the stomach, it produces electrical impulses for this.
Smart sensors have already been developed to fight overweight. Their main function, coupled with a smartphone, was to keep an eye on the user’s health. But this new system designed by engineers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison (United States) allows, beyond the observation of the internal processes of the body, to play on satiety.
“Intelligent and autonomous”
“It is an intelligent and autonomous device, without electronics or power supply, explains Prof. Wang. It produces electrical impulses in response to stomach movements and transmits them through the vagus nerve to the brain as a signal of artificial fullness [capable] prevent continuing to eat. “ It therefore does not require an external battery to operate, unlike the implant Maestro Rechargeable System, recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The new device generates on its own up to 0.5 volts, enough power to function, simply thanks to the natural movements of the stomach.
Tested on rats, the implant seems to be bearing fruit: the rodents that carried it weighed 38% less than the others. It still remains to be tested on larger animals, such as pigs, so that it can then possibly be carried out on humans. The track is therefore promising for reducing obesity. According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and since 1995, the number of cases has almost tripled worldwide, reaching 650 million adults in 2016.
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