DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REDUCING CALORIE INTAKE
Devices and methods for substantially reducing the caloric efficiency of the digestive tract by capturing food being digested in the stomach 10 and/or anywhere else in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, absorbing or encapsulating the captured food into multiple capturing members and moving such multiple capturing members containing the ingestible encapsulated food down the GI tract, practically out of reach of the GI absorption organs, thus excluding the entrapped ingredients from being involved in the digestion and\or absorption process. The device is designed for oral delivery. The system can be comprised of liquid, food bars or a capsule system. The capsule system is comprised of an external capsule that dissolves in accordance with a temporal or ph dependent preset, which allows the food intake to be at least partially fluidic. The capsule system is further comprised of a mechanism designed to capture and isolate a portion of the food being digested.
1 . A method of malabsorption of food in the GI tract comprising:
containing a volume of chyme within a closed volume, the closed volume defined by a barrier;
placing the barrier between the chyme and the wall of the GI tract; and
moving the barrier with the closed volume of chyme through the GI tract.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the barrier comprises a first partial sphere and a second partial sphere.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising closing the barrier,
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the closing comprises closing with a spring-like element configured to close the barrier.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein moving the barrier comprises moving the barrier out of the GI tract.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising sucking the volume of chyme into the closed volume.
7 . A device for containing a volume within the digestive tract comprising:
a first structural element, wherein the first element has a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration;
a second element wherein the second element has a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration; and
a cover over the first element and the second element.
8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the second element is separate from the first element.
9 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the first element is substantially similar in shape to the second element.
10 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the first element is substantially similar in size to the second element.
11 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the first element and the second element have contracted and expanded configurations, and wherein in the expanded configurations the first element and the second element each have a contained inner volume.
12 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the cover comprises a capsule.
13 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the cover comprises a coating.
14 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the cover is dissolvable.
15 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the first element is spherical in the expanded configuration.
16 . A method for reducing the caloric efficiency of the digestive tract, comprising:
containing and retaining caloric content in the digestive tract with an element; and
dissolving the element within days in the GI tract.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising closing the element until the element is dissolved.
18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the element has a closed configuration, and wherein the closed configuration
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the element has an opened and a closed configuration, and wherein containing further comprises closing the element when the element is in the GI tract.
20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising exposing the element to an ingestible liquid when the element is in the GI tract, and wherein the ingestible liquid is configured to dissolve the element in the GI tract when the element comes into contact with the ingestible liquid.