1914 results about "Small intestine" patented technology

Apparatus and methods are described for treatment of morbid obesity using minimally invasive techniques. The apparatus includes a system of components that may be used separately or in combination for effectively reducing stomach volume, bypassing a portion of the stomach and / or small intestines, reducing nutrient absorption in the stomach and / or small intestines and / or depositing minimally or undigested food farther than normal into the intestines, thereby stimulating intestinal responses. The components described include an artificial stoma device, a gastric sleeve device, an intestinal sleeve device and a combined gastrointestinal sleeve device.

Disclosed is a method of diagnosing irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, or Crohn's disease, which involves detecting the presence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in a human subject having at least one symptom associated with a suspected diagnosis of any of those diagnostic categories. Also disclosed is a method of treating these disorders, and other disorders caused by SIBO, that involves at least partially eradicating a SIBO condition in the human subject. The method includes administration of anti-microbial or probiotic agents, or normalizing intestinal motility by employing a prokinetic agent. The method improves symptoms, including hyperalgesia related to SIBO and disorders caused by SIBO. Also disclosed is a kit for the diagnosis or treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune diseases, or Crohn's disease.

Devices and methods for achieving hemostasis and leakage control in hollow body vessels such as the small and large intestines, arteries and veins as well as ducts leading to the gall bladder and other organs. The devices and methods disclosed herein are especially useful in the emergency, trauma surgery or military setting, and most especially during damage control procedures. In such cases, the patient may have received trauma to the abdomen, extremities, neck or thoracic region. The devices utilize removable or permanently implanted, broad, soft, parallel jaw clips with minimal projections to maintain vessel contents without damage to the tissue comprising the vessel. These clips are applied using either standard instruments or custom devices that are subsequently removed leaving the clips implanted, on a temporary or permanent basis, to provide for hemostasis or leakage prevention, or both. These clips overcome the limitations of clips and sutures that are currently used for the same purposes. The clips come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The clips may be placed and removed by open surgery or laparoscopic access.

A method for treatment of obesity, especially morbid obesity, gastroparesis and other syndromes related to motor disorders of the stomach. The method of this invention utilizes a sensor to detect food entering the patient's stomach, thereby the sensor communicates with and activates at least one electrical stimulation device attached to either the stomach or the small intestine.

The present invention relates to a circular stapler used for an operation of cutting off and suturing a jejunum, where a structure of the circular stapler is improved to facilitate manipulation thereof and to enhance the potential for success of the operation. The circular stapler comprises: a detachable anvil; a head section coupled to the detachable anvil and having a head section cover; and a cylindrical body which extends longs and of which the top end is coupled to the head section, and a recessed portion is formed in a side surface of the cylindrical body positioned under the head section cover. According to the circular stapler, it is possible to considerably reduce the potential for constricting the small intestine, to reduce the bleeding, which may be generated due to the stapling in a state where the tension is applied, and to reduce a risk that the small intestine is caught by the head section of the circular stapler during the suturing operation.

Devices and methods for achieving hemostasis and leakage control in hollow body vessels such as the small and large intestines, arteries and veins as well as ducts leading to the gall bladder and other organs. The devices and methods disclosed herein are especially useful in the emergency, trauma surgery or military setting, and most especially during damage control procedures. In such cases, the patient may have received trauma to the abdomen, extremities, neck or thoracic region. The devices utilize removable or permanently implanted, broad, soft, parallel jaw clips with minimal projections to maintain vessel contents without damage to the tissue comprising the vessel. These clips are applied using either standard instruments or custom devices that are subsequently removed leaving the clips implanted, on a temporary or permanent basis, to provide for hemostasis or leakage prevention, or both. These clips overcome the limitations of clips and sutures that are currently used for the same purposes. The clips come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The clips may be placed and removed by open surgery or laparoscopic access.

A method is provided for detecting a change in posture of a subject. An electrical impedance is measured between two or more sites on a stomach (20) of the subject, and an impedance signal is generated responsive thereto. The change in posture is detected by performing a posture analysis of the impedance signal. A method is also provided for treating a subject. The method includes applying an electrical signal to a site of the subject selected from the list consisting of: a colon (402) of the subject, and a distal small intestine (408) of the subject. The signal is configured to stimulate cells of the subject to increase secretion of glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) or PYY, or to decrease secretion of ghrelin, in order to treat the subject.

Disclosed is a method of treating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) or a SIBO-caused condition in a human subject. SIBO-caused conditions include irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, impaired mentation, impaired memory, halitosis, tinnitus, sugar craving, autism, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, drug sensitivity, an autoimmune disease, and Crohn's disease. Also disclosed are a method of screening for the abnormally likely presence of SIBO in a human subject and a method of detecting SIBO in a human subject. A method of determining the relative severity of SIBO or a SIBO-caused condition in a human subject, in whom small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) has been detected, is also disclosed.

Apparatus and methods are described for treatment of morbid obesity using minimally invasive techniques. The apparatus includes a system of components that may be used separately or in combination for effectively reducing stomach volume, bypassing a portion of the stomach and / or small intestines, reducing nutrient absorption in the stomach and / or small intestines and / or depositing minimally or undigested food farther than normal into the intestines, thereby stimulating intestinal responses. The components described include a gastric sleeve device, an intestinal sleeve device, and a combined gastrointestinal sleeve device.

Embodiments of the invention provide swallowable devices, preparations and methods for delivering drugs and other therapeutic agents within the GI tract. Particular embodiments provide a swallowable device such as a capsule for delivering drugs into the intestinal wall or other GI lumen. Embodiments also provide various drug preparations that are configured to be contained within the capsule, advanced from the capsule into the intestinal wall and degrade within the wall to release the drug to produce a therapeutic effect. The preparation can be coupled to a delivery mechanism having one or more balloons or other expandable devices which are expandable responsive to a condition in the small intestine or other GI lumen to advance the preparation out of the capsule into the intestinal wall. Embodiments of the invention are particularly useful for the delivery of drugs which are poorly absorbed, tolerated and / or degraded within the GI tract.

An absorbable and expandable closure member used to occlude or exclude a body lumen or cavity, such as a blood vessel, fallopian tube, duct, aneurysmal sac, etc., comprising a closure member comprising one of more sheets of a biomaterial that are rolled, stacked, or folded to form a multilayer construct of a generally cylindrical configuration for deployment through a delivery system, either as a singularly or part of a multiplicity of closure members. The biomaterial is derived from a source material, such as small intestinal submucosa or another remodelable material (e.g., an extracellular matrix) having properties for stimulating ingrowth of adjacent tissue into the biomaterial deployed within the bodily lumen. The closure member is deployed to the bodily lumen from a delivery sheath, cartridge, and / or over a inner guiding member, such as a wire guide or catheter.

The present invention provides, among other things, a site specific way to enhance a natural hormonal response to nutrients entering the small intestine after gastric emptying, thereby providing therapeutic value for obesity or diabetic patients. In one aspect, the present invention provides methods of stimulating the release of satiety hormone in a subject comprising applying a first electrical stimulus to a tissue in the lumen of the gastrointestinal system of the subject contemporaneously with the contacting of L-cells of the tissue with a nutrient stimulus. In another aspect, the present invention provides methods for predicting patient response to a weight loss surgery comprising applying a first electrical stimulus to a tissue of the gastrointestinal system of said patient contemporaneously with the contacting of L-cells of the tissue with a nutrient stimulus, assessing the effect of the electrical stimulus in said patient, and, correlating said effect to said patient's response to a weight loss surgery.

Devices and methods for treating diseased or damaged portions of an intervertebral region are provided. In particular, intervertebral implants that can include use of a tissue regeneration structure having small intestine submucosa are described. The intervertebral implants can be utilized with any combination of load bearing structures for supporting loading on the implant, shaping structures for biasing the configuration of the implant, collapsible support structures for shaping the implant, and other features. Implants can also be formed with an enclosure to contain a filling material, such as an injectable small intestine submucosa formulation. Methods of delivering and utilizing the various implants are also discussed.

An ingestible pill platform for colon imaging is provided, designed to recognize its entry to the colon and expand in the colon, for improved imaging of the colon walls. On approaching the external anal sphincter muscle, the ingestible pill may contract or deform, for elimination. Colon recognition may be based on a structural image, based on the differences in diameters between the small intestine and the colon, and particularly, based on the semilunar fold structure, which is unique to the colon. Additionally or alternatively, colon recognition may be based on a functional image, based on the generally inflammatory state of the vermiform appendix. Additionally or alternatively, pH, flora, enzymes and (or) chemical analyses may be used to recognize the colon. The imaging of the colon walls may be functional, by nuclear-radiation imaging of radionuclide-labeled antibodies, or by optical-fluorescence-spectroscopy imaging of fluorescence-labeled antibodies. Additionally or alternatively, it may be structural, for example, by visual, ultrasound or MRI means. Due to the proximity to the colon walls, the imaging in accordance with the present invention is advantageous to colonoscopy or virtual colonoscopy, as it is designed to distinguish malignant from benign tumors and detect tumors even at their incipient stage, and overcome blood-pool background radioactivity.

Embodiments of the invention provide swallowable devices, preparations and methods for delivering drugs and other therapeutic agents within the GI tract. Particular embodiments provide a swallowable device such as a capsule for delivering drugs into the intestinal wall or other GI lumen. Embodiments also provide various drug preparations that are configured to be contained within the capsule, advanced from the capsule into the intestinal wall and degrade within the wall to release the drug to produce a therapeutic effect. The preparation can be coupled to a delivery mechanism having one or more balloons or other expandable devices which are expandable responsive to a condition in the small intestine or other GI lumen to advance the preparation out of the capsule into the intestinal wall. Embodiments of the invention are particularly useful for the delivery of drugs which are poorly absorbed, tolerated and / or degraded within the GI tract.