Researchers at the University of Texas A & M have introduced a small wireless device that could be the answer to help fight weight loss by fighting obesity and stimulating nerve endings, especially nerve endings. Vagus nerveResponsible for food cravings. This device can be inserted with a simple embedding procedure.
by Science dailyUnlike other devices, this small wireless device does not require a power cord and can be controlled externally from a remote frequency source.
The device is shaped like a paddle consisting of a microchip and a microLED that lights up when targeting a specific vagal nerve ending. A small wireless device will be attached to the stomach, and researchers hope that someday it can replace gastric bypass surgery.
(Photo: Nature Communications)
Screenshots of Nature Communications’ thin, pre-curved wireless gastric optogenetic implants-organ-specific for high-throughput phenotypic analysis of peripheral nerve pathways by WooSeok Kim, Sungcheol Hong, Milenka Gamero, Vivekanand Jeevakumar, and Clay M. Smithhart. Multimodal Wireless Optoelectronics Theodore J. Price, Richard D. Palmiter, Carlos Campos, Son Il Park
Better than gastric bypass surgery
obesity It is associated with a variety of health problems and is a pandemic that affects more than 650 million people worldwide. For example, the US healthcare system records about $ 147 billion annually in obesity costs. It also causes other serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Obese people usually look to diet and exercise, but the results can vary significantly because they may undergo gastric bypass surgery. This is an invasive procedure that creates a pouch in the stomach and alters the pathways of the digestive system. Unfortunately, this procedure requires a lot of time for a person to recover.
One of the authors of the study, Associate Professor Sung Il Park of the University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said their goal in making small wireless devices was to develop tools that required only simple surgery, which caused the vagus nerve. Stimulate.
Park said their device could do both and could someday help people in need of dramatic weight loss surgery. MailOnline report.
Also read: Researchers discover hormones that can suppress appetite and help deal with obesity
Stimulates a feeling of fullness
TheĀ· Research, Published in this month’s issue Nature Communications, The vagus nerve is focused as a potential target for treating obesity because it can send sensory information about satiety to the brain.
There are devices already available, but these devices required an external power source. However, the application of wireless technology and genetic and optical tools makes nerve stimulation easier and more comfortable.
The small wireless device has a micro LED on the flexible tip attached to the stomach. The head of a device, called a harvester, contains microchips that allow the device to communicate with external radio frequency sources, and can also power micro LEDs to turn them on.
Researchers can use this device to stimulate the non-stretchable parts of the stomach’s receptors and react to food chemicals to tell the brain that the stomach is already full. discovered.
It is known that the stomach stretches and stretches when it is full. This message is sent to the brain via the vagal mechanoreceptors. The vagus nerve is another receptor that researchers want to target.
Future research using small wireless devices
Researchers say the device can be used for further research, including manipulating nerve endings in the gastrointestinal tract and other organs to control appetite and other behaviors that are of paramount concern to scientists. ..
This new device will help scientists gain a deeper understanding of the neural function of the peripheral nervous system with a new device that has never been seen before.
Read more: Swallowable gastric balloons can treat obesity without bloody procedures
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