US 11,806,310 B2
System for determining gastric motility and for feeding a patient
Pieter Janssen, Boortmeerbeek (BE); Peter Annemie Jos Irma Slaets, Kessel-Lo (BE); John Fredy Morales Tellez, Leuven (BE); Jenny Carolina Varon Perez, Heverlee (BE); Steven Vandeput, Kessel-Lo (BE); Sabine Van Huffel, Leuven (BE); Nick Goelen, Leuven (BE); and Jan Tack, Leuven (BE)
Assigned to VIPUN Medical NV, Boortmeerbeek (BE)
Appl. No. 17/053,547
Filed by VIPUN Medical NV, Boortmeerbeek (BE)
PCT Filed May 14, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/062369
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 6, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/219700, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 21, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18172369 (EP), filed on May 15, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0220227 A1, Jul. 22, 2021
Int. Cl. A61J 15/00 (2006.01); G16H 40/63 (2018.01); G16H 20/60 (2018.01)
CPC A61J 15/0084 (2015.05) [A61J 15/0003 (2013.01); A61J 15/0049 (2013.01); A61J 15/0069 (2013.01); A61J 15/0073 (2013.01); A61J 15/0076 (2015.05); A61J 15/0088 (2015.05); A61J 15/0092 (2013.01); G16H 20/60 (2018.01); G16H 40/63 (2018.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for monitoring gastric motility and for artificially feeding a patient, the system comprising or connectable to a balloon catheter, the balloon catheter comprising an inflatable balloon, a first lumen in fluid connection with the inflatable balloon, and a second lumen for providing food to the patient, the second lumen having at least one second opening located outside the balloon, the system comprising:
a pressure sensor fluidly connected or connectable to the first lumen for measuring a pressure of a fluid inside the at least one balloon;
a food pump fluidly connected or connectable to the second lumen, and adapted for providing food;
a controller operatively connected to the pressure sensor for obtaining the measured pressure values, and operatively connected to the food pump for driving the food pump so as to provide food at a configurable flow rate;
wherein the controller contains computer executable instructions comprising:
first code fragments for performing a first algorithm for extracting gastric motility information from the measured pressure values, and
second code fragments for performing a second algorithm for dynamically adjusting the flow rate of the food pump based on the extracted gastric motility information;
wherein the first algorithm is adapted for:
(a) filtering the raw pressure signal to reduce or preferably completely remove influences other than gastric motility-induced pressure changes;
(b) finding gastric contraction peaks in the filtered pressure signal;
(c) determining a duration and/or a height of the gastric contraction peaks, and assigning a gastric activity value to each gastric contraction peak indicative of gastric activity based on the duration and/or the height;
(d) optionally determining a short-term-gastric-motility value by calculating a sum of a plurality of the gastric activity values normalized over a first time window of 1 to 60 minutes, or by calculating a statistical value of a plurality of the gastric activity values over the first time window;
(e) determining a long-term-gastric-motility-value as a maximum over a second time window of 1 hours to 3 hours of the gastric activity values or as a maximum of the short-term-gastric-motility values; and
wherein the second algorithm is adapted for:
(f) comparing the long-term gastric motility value with at least one threshold, and if the long-term gastric motility value is lower than the at least one threshold, to reduce the flow-rate or to set the flow-rate to zero, and if the long-term gastric motility value is higher than the at least one threshold, to maintain or to increase the flow rate.