Robotic placement of experimental prototypes for wireless gastric electrical stimulation

TL;DR

A new battery-free implantable system for gastric electrical stimulation was tested in pigs using robotic surgery.

Contribution

A novel battery-free implantable system for gastric electrical stimulation was developed and robotically placed in porcine models.

Findings

The robotic placement of the prototypes was successful in acute porcine experiments.

Inductive energy transfer was confirmed functional and EMG analysis showed changes in gastric electrical activity.

Abstract

Gastric electrical stimulation (GES) is an effective treatment for gastroparesis. However, the available devices are equipped with bulky batteries that need to be replaced regularly by surgery.

Our new implantable system consists of only 6 passive components in addition to a diode and does not require a battery. Two acute porcine experiments were carried out with a robotic surgical system for placement of the prototypes. The stimulation parameters were set with an extracorporeal unit and GES was performed. The recorded electromyography (EMG) signal was subjected to a multiresolution analysis.

The robot-assisted placement of the prototypes was successful. The inductive energy transfer was confirmed to be functional and EMG analysis revealed changes in gastric electrical activity.

Further technological and rapid regulatory solutions are being sought in order to start a clinical trial with the next generation devices in the near future.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00423-025-03834-1.

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