Patent ID: 9687243
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F

Claim:
1. An apparatus for facilitating gastric retention, comprising: an elongate delivery instrument defining a lumen therethrough; an obstructing member having a flexible covering which is separable from a portion of the obstructing member and where the obstructing member is reconfigurable from a low-profile delivery configuration to an enlarged deployment configuration; an actuating member translatable through the delivery instrument for actuating the obstructing member from the delivery configuration to the deployment configuration, wherein the actuating member comprises an elongate instrument releasably attached to the obstructing member; a positioning member coupled to and extending from the obstructing member and having a shape adapted to pass at least partially through a pylorus to position the apparatus relative to the pylorus; and a retaining member coupled to a distal end of the positioning member for maintaining the apparatus in intermittent contact with the pylorus, where the retaining member has an atraumatic shape which maintains its configuration prior to and after deployment and further defines a diameter greater than a diameter of the positioning member when in the deployment configuration, wherein the obstructing member defines an elongated shape when in the delivery configuration and translated in a longitudinal direction through the delivery instrument for trans-esophageal advancement into a stomach, wherein the obstructing member, the positioning member which is coupled to the obstructing member, and the retaining member which is coupled to the distal end of the positioning member are releasably detachable from the delivery instrument, wherein the obstructing member is expanded in the deployment configuration to prevent or inhibit passage through a pylorus of the stomach, and wherein the flexible covering comprises a tissue contact surface and wherein the tissue contact surface is inverted relative to the positioning member when the obstructing member is reconfigured from the low-profile delivery configuration to the enlarged deployment configuration.