Abstract
In vivo vagus nerve stimulation holds great promise in regulating food intake for obesity treatment. Here we present an implanted vagus nerve stimulation system that is battery-free and spontaneously responsive to stomach movement. The vagus nerve stimulation system comprises a flexible and biocompatible nanogenerator that is attached on the surface of stomach. It generates biphasic electric pulses in responsive to the peristalsis of stomach. The electric signals generated by this device can stimulate the vagal afferent fibers to reduce food intake and achieve weight control. This strategy is successfully demonstrated on rat models. Within 100 days, the average body weight is controlled at 350 g, 38% less than the control groups. This work correlates nerve stimulation with targeted organ functionality through a smart, self-responsive system, and demonstrated highly effective weight control. This work also provides a concept in therapeutic technology using artificial nerve signal generated from coordinated body activities.
Highlights
In vivo vagus nerve stimulation holds great promise in regulating food intake for obesity treatment
This self-responsive function is enabled by a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)[27,28,29,30,31] attached on the surface of stomach, which generates biphasic electric pulses when the stomach is in peristalsis
The vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) device was built based on a flexible TENG that was attached to the stomach wall of rats and could generate biphasic electric pulses when the stomach wall moved
Summary
In vivo vagus nerve stimulation holds great promise in regulating food intake for obesity treatment. The electric signals generated by this device can stimulate the vagal afferent fibers to reduce food intake and achieve weight control. This strategy is successfully demonstrated on rat models. A number of studies have demonstrated that pulsed electrical stimulations on vagus nerve could induce multiple physiologic functions related to food intake, energy metabolism, and glycemic control, which can result in appreciable weight loss[20,21,22]. The electric signals can stimulate the vagal afferent fibers to reduce food intake and eventually achieve weight control We successfully demonstrated this strategy on rats and achieved 38% weight loss in as short as 15 days without further rebound, exceeding all current electrical stimulation approaches. This work provided an effective weight control strategy that is self-responsive, battery free, and directly correlating food intake to stomach movements
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
