An ASU engineering professor is collaborating with doctors and researchers to create a device that will help people who suffer from acid reflux.
The entrepreneurs are helping to develop a tiny device that would stimulate a muscle to prevent stomach acid from moving up the digestive tract.
Derek Sarley, marketing and communications manager of Arizona Technology Enterprises, said the development of the device started when AzTE partnered with EndoStim, Inc.
AzTE is a nonprofit organization that brings together ASU’s researchers and industry partners to convert discoveries into marketable products and services. EndoStim is a St. Louis-based medical device startup company.
EndoStim announced Monday that it plans to use technology developed at ASU to create implantable micro-electronic devices to aid in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux.
Sarley said the idea for the device came when Bruce Towe, an ASU engineering professor, developed the technology that EndoStim is now using.
The technology uses ultrasound energy to power micro-sized simulators. The device generates very small electrical impulses to cause the muscles of the esophagus to contract, preventing the acid from the stomach from entering the digestive tract.
“It is an implantable medical device that helps people live comfortably and longer so that they can have a more normal life,” Towe said.
The device has been in development for five years, and Towe said it could be complete in the next year.
Towe said the device could be further developed at ASU and that AzTE is looking for partners to license the technology. The organization is also looking for partners to work on creating other applications for the human body.
According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, acid reflux disease affects one-third of the U.S. population and surgery is often required. Towe’s device offers an alternative method by using ultrasound-based technology.
Sarley said doctors have been using other electrical stimulation devices, like pacemakers, for more than 50 years. The neurostimulators in the device apply the same principles to nerves but all of these technologies use wires to deliver the electricity, he said.
“The breakthrough by Bruce Towe was the creation of tiny microstimulator devices that can be powered wirelessly,” Sarley said.
These hairbreadth devices are small enough that they can be injected with a large needle and then managed with a handheld device outside the body. Sarley said this is a far less invasive procedure than the surgery required for wire-fed devices.
He said EndoStim believes a significant percentage of those with acid reflux could benefit from neurostimulation through these micro-electronic devices.
In addition, he said the device replaces drug treatments and invasive surgical procedures with ultrasound technology.
“This technology enables stimulation without the need for implanted battery power and leads, lending itself to a wide range of applications.” Sarley said.
Reach the reporter at khillhou@asu.edu
