Patent ID: 8062285

Claim:
A method of removing ingested food from a patient's stomach via a gastrostomy tube that passes through the patient's abdominal wall into the patient's stomach, the gastrostomy tube having a first connector, the method comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus that alternately mates with and un-mates from the first connector, wherein the apparatus is configured to facilitate siphoning or pumping ingested food out of the patient's stomach via the gastrostomy tube when the apparatus is mated with the first connector, and wherein the apparatus includes (a) an electrical or mechanical counter that is configured to count how many times the apparatus has been connected to the first connector and (b) a shut-off mechanism configured to disable the apparatus when a predetermined count of connections is reached; counting how many times the apparatus has been connected to the first connector by using said electrical or mechanical counter; and activating the shut-off mechanism to disable the apparatus when the count of how many times the apparatus has been connected reaches a predetermined number.