Responsive Gastric Stimulator

Abstract

A responsive gastrointestinal stimulation device is provided where one or more sensors sense data corresponding to a subject or the gastrointestinal tract of a subject and responds to sensing the data by stimulating, adjusting stimulation, or stopping stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract. A stimulation device is also provided to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract to produce a sensation of satiety or to control hunger or food consumption.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving data sensed from an implantable sensor system implanted inside a patient, the sensor system including a transgastric probe having an intragastric sensor disposed within a cavity of a stomach of the patient so as to generate intragastric sensed data, and an accelerometer so as to generate activity sensed data;   determining a characteristic of material ingested by the patient in response to the intragastric sensed data;   determining a gross activity level of the patient in response to the activity sensed data, wherein the determining of the gross activity level comprises determining a period when the patient is sleeping, determining a period when the patient has a wakeful gross activity level, and determining a period when the patient has a higher exertion gross activity level, the higher exertion activity level being more active than the wakeful activity level;   transmitting signals from implanted electronic circuitry of the implantable device to external circuitry outside the patient, and outputting the ingested material characteristic and gross activity level from the external circuitry in response to the signals, wherein outputting the ingested material characteristic and gross activity level comprises communicating to a physician of the patient; and   adjusting an obesity therapy of the patient in response to the ingested material characteristic and in response to the gross activity level of the patient.