Gastric balloons, silicone devices filled with air or saline, are designed to aid in weight loss by creating a sensation of fullness in the stomach. While effective initially, users often find that this feeling diminishes over time as the body adjusts. To combat this challenge, engineers at MIT have innovated a new type of gastric balloon that can be inflated and deflated as needed, ensuring that users can maintain the sensation of fullness whenever required.
In recent animal studies, researchers discovered that inflating the balloon prior to meals led to a remarkable 60 percent reduction in food intake. This promising outcome suggests a potential alternative for individuals seeking weight-loss solutions without opting for invasive procedures like gastric bypass surgery or pharmaceuticals that may not be effective for everyone.
“This dynamic balloon can be inflated right before a meal to suppress hunger and deflated in between meals, providing a flexible approach to managing appetite,” explains Giovanni Traverso, a mechanical engineering associate professor at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who led the study.
Neil Zixun Jia, the lead author of the study published in the journal Device, emphasizes the balloon’s dual functionality backed by rigorous research. Currently, traditional saline-filled gastric balloons are FDA-approved for use in the U.S., showing initial weight-loss success, yet often accompanied by weight regain over time.
“While traditional gastric balloons initially facilitate weight loss, they can fall short in maintaining this achievement in the long run,” Traverso adds. “We considered that a balloon that allows transient fullness might provide a more sustainable weight-loss method.”
The researchers developed two prototypes: one a typical inflation and deflation balloon, the other featuring a mechanical design that extends arms to create pressure against the stomach. Ultimately, they opted for the inflatable balloon, believing it to distribute pressure more safely and effectively over time.
This innovative balloon is inserted into the stomach through a small incision in the abdominal wall. It links to an external controller—an easy-to-use pump attached to the skin that manages inflation and deflation. This insertion method resembles that of feeding tubes placed for patients unable to consume food normally, showcasing a long history of successful long-term use.
“Given the precedent of feeding tubes, which can remain in place for extended periods, we feel confident in the long-term compatibility of our design,” says Traverso.
During the animal trials, the results were striking: when inflated before meals, the gastric balloon led to substantial decreases in food consumption. Although these studies spanned one month, researchers plan to conduct prolonged investigations to verify if this leads to sustained weight loss.
“Traditional gastric balloons typically have a deployment period of around six months, making it crucial to analyze our device’s performance over a similar timespan,” Jia remarks. “We aim to demonstrate our approach can surpass existing methods.”
If proven successful for human use, this cutting-edge gastric balloon could revolutionize weight loss strategies, presenting a solution to those for whom surgical options or medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists—such as semaglutide—aren’t viable.
“This offers hope for patients who are unable to undergo surgery or who have unsuccessful experiences with weight-loss medications,” Traverso explains. “While traditional gastric balloons are still in use, their effectiveness may plateau over time, which highlights the importance of our novel approach.”
The development of this gastric balloon has been supported by MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, alongside various research funding initiatives.
Photo credit & article inspired by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
