INTRAGASTRIC BALLOON DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE REPEATEDLY VARIED IN VOLUME WITHOUT EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE

摘要

An intragastic balloon device (10) includes a flexible bladder (12), a relatively rigid reservoir (14) coupled to the bladder and adapted to hold a bladder inflation fluid, and an inflation/deflation system (18) is adapted to move or permit movement of the fluid from the reservoir and into the bladder. The intragastric balloon device (10) is sized such that it may be positioned, in its entirety, into the stomach cavity. Various systems may be used to move or permit movement of the fluid. In several embodiments, the system (18) is a pump (20) which moves the fluid between the reservoir and the bladder. In other embodiments, the system includes a mechanism for heating a fluid to cause the heated fluid to expand the bladder. In yet another embodiment, no reservoir is employed and a pump pumps stomach fluid into the bladder to inflate the bladder. A control mechanism (22) is provided to automatically activate the inflation/deflation system. The automatic activation may be actuivated by a combination of one or more of a timer, the temperature of the stomach, the pressure in the stomach, the mechanical stress in the stomach, or another sensed condition, at which the control system is programmed or otherwise configured to activate. The control system (22) is preferably reprogammable via an external transmitter. In addition, the control system (22) and the pump (20), where utilized, are preferably battery-powered (24) such that the intragastric balloon device is self-contained.