What if there was a device that could help you curb your appetite so that you wouldn't need to consume a few burgers or five to six slices of pizza to feel full? While there are some procedures that can shrink a stomach and minimize potential hunger, the procedures can leave subjects without the ability to handle normal food. However, one doctor may have created an alternate tool that could save millions of lives from the consequences of obesity at a fraction of the cost of a surgery while not damaging the user's digestive tract.
Buzzfeed reports that such a device came about during an unusual procedure. Dr. Randy Baker was involved in a procedure in which a woman had gone through gastric bypass surgery, but her esophagus had shrunk down to the point where only she could only drink liquid. However, an operation was impossible. That was when Baker realized that he could create an esophageal stent that could keep the esophagus open so the woman could eat. The implemented device worked well and saved the patient from starvation. But it also had an interesting side effect; the stent put pressure on a part of the throat and decreased the patient's hunger. She told Baker that she didn't feel hunger anymore.
Empowered by the patient's experience, Baker started working with a series of surgeons and material designers to create what Baker calls the "Full-Sense Device," a nitinol wire-mesh funnel coated in silicone that can be inserted through the mouth. The placement takes less than 10 minutes.
Such a device would provide an alternative to gastric bypass, which tends to do extensive damage to the stomach and throat during the procedure.. Buzzfeed reported that "Dr. Baker has come up with a nonsurgical device that he says will enable obese patients to lose substantial weight, and at a fraction of the cost of surgery - in the neighborhood of $5,000 at an outpatient center."
