Patent ID: 7316716

Claim:
A device for treatment of obesity of a patient comprising: an annular element having a relatively large outer boundary and a relatively small inner boundary; an elongated flexible tube extending between a proximal end and a distal end, said tube defining a central lumen within said tube, said proximal end of said tube being connected to said relatively small inner boundary of said annular element, and forming a continuous passageway through a region interior to said relatively small inner boundary and said lumen, wherein said relatively large outer boundary of said annular element is adapted to be attached to an inner wall of a stomach of said patient, such that said annular element divides said stomach into two chambers, an esophagus-end chamber close to an esophagus of said patient, and a pylorus-end chamber close to a pylorus of said patient, and wherein said esophagus-end chamber is in fluid communication with said lumen of said tube wherein at least a portion of said flexible tube is thin-walled and made of a flexible material such that the thin-walled portion collapses when subjected to a positive pressure differential from the outside of the tube to the inside of the tube, and is openable when subjected to a positive pressure differential from the inside of the tube to the outside of the tube, said flexible portion of said tube being adapted to transport food through said central lumen in response to musculature movement of said patient.