Patent ID: 8789536

Claim:
A medical or veterinary system comprising: a module body small enough for a subject to swallow; an earlier-acting attachment feature operable for coupling the module body to a first portion of a mucous membrane, the earlier-acting attachment feature including at least: one or more attachment elements including at least one of a piercing element, a gripping element, a magnetic-flux-guiding element, or an adhesive material; a first delay-inducing element responsive to an apparent ingestion of the module body; a first actuator operable for coupling the module body to the first portion of the mucous membrane at least partially using the one or more attachment elements; and a later-acting attachment feature operable for coupling the module body to a second portion of the mucous membrane at least one minute after the earlier-acting attachment feature couples the module body to the first portion of the mucous membrane, the later-acting attachment feature including at least: a second delay-inducing element that is slower than the first delay-inducing element by at least an hour; and the later-acting attachment feature including at least a second actuator operable for injecting a polymer-containing binding agent into a binding location suitable for coupling the module body to the second portion of the mucous membrane responsive to the second delay-inducing element.