Use of Bioelectronics in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders are major contributing factors to functional GI diseases that account for >40% of patients seen in gastroenterology clinics and affect >20% of the general population. The autonomic and enteric nervous systems and the muscles within the luminal GI tract have key roles in motility. In health, this complex integrated system works seamlessly to transport liquid, solid, and gas through the GI tract. However, major and minor motility disorders occur when these systems fail. Common functional GI motility disorders include dysphagia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia, gastroparesis, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, postoperative ileus, irritable bowel syndrome, functional diarrhea, functional constipation, and fecal incontinence. Although still in its infancy, bioelectronic therapy in the GI tract holds great promise through the targeted stimulation of nerves and muscles.

Figure 1.

Placement of the stimulation electrodes on the proximal and distal locations on the greater curvature is shown. The electrodes are connected to a current stimulator device with source and sink. Three common stimulation types, including low-energy, high-energy, and pulse-train stimulations and related parameters for each stimulation, is shown.