NYU Abu Dhabi develops ingestible device to help suppress hunger signals, treat metabolic disease

ABU DHABI: A team of researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has developed an ingestible device that modulates hunger-inducing hormones to help treat metabolic and neurological disorders.

The electronic device, called the FLASH system, is shaped like a small capsule that attaches directly to stomach tissue and helps neuromodulate the gut-brain axis, the signaling pathway between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.

The project was led by Professor Khalil Ramadi, director of NYU’s Advanced Neural Engineering and Translational Medicine Laboratory, in collaboration with MIT’s Professor Giovanni Traverso and graduate student James McRae.

The gut-brain axis regulates a variety of physiological functions, including feeding and emotional behavior. Other existing medical and surgical methods to adjust the axis, including surgical implantation of electrodes, are imprecise, invasive, and associated with significant downtime and associated risks. The FLASH system uses electrodes on its surface to deliver electrical stimulation to gastric mucosal tissue. Inspired by the absorbent cuticle of the Australian spiny lizard Moloch horridus, FLASH features a grooved patterned coating of absorbent capsules and a hydrophilic (water-compatible) surface that allows it to bypass gastric juice in the stomach and achieve direct electrode-tissue contact . Gastric electrical stimulation (GES) is then stimulated endoscopically to induce the release of the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin from the gastric mucosa.

Oral ingestion of FLASH capsules has been shown to significantly and repeatedly modulate ghrelin hormone levels. In a paper published today, titled Bioinspired, fluid-wicking, ingestible electroceutical capsules for hunger-regulating hormone modulation, researchers report the process of developing FLASH capsules that are swallowed, stimulate the stomach, and then pass safely in vitro. Powered by an ingestible battery, the capsules were proven to provide 20 minutes of stimulation and then excreted within two weeks of ingestion in large animals.

Current hormonal drugs have poor bioavailability when taken orally. This is why medications such as insulin are injected. FLASH, on the other hand, can be taken orally and specifically targets the gastric neurohormonal circuit and regulates hormone levels in the blood. The device is expected to be useful in a range of applications to treat metabolic, feeding, gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric disorders non-invasively with minimal off-target effects.

“Electroceuticals, or electrical stimulation therapy, have emerged as the next frontier in neuromodulation. FLASH is one of the first ingestible electronics that can modulate precise neurohormonal circuits, while avoiding the pain that patients may encounter during invasive treatments.” Discomfort,” Dr. Ramadai said.

There may soon be more advances in the uses and benefits of ingestibles, the researchers say.

“Future ingestible electronic systems could be designed and tailored for specific applications beyond acute, short-term gastric stimulation,” he said.