This document describes methods and devices for using electrical stimulation to control physiological functions such as breathing of patients suffering from respiratory impairment. For example, this document describes methods and devices for generating effective breaths and airway protection by determining times and depths of breaths in accordance with physiological demand, and coordinating respiratory muscle stimulation with the breaths to control breathing.

A stimulator for a digestive organ includes a case, a substrate member disposed in the case, and an electrode member connected to the substrate member and extending to protrude outwardly from the case. The electrode member may have a shape of a wire and may be configured to provide an electrical stimulation in a state of being inserted and fixed at a predetermined location within a digestive organ.

A fully implanted automatic disorder response system is devised to act as a backup “immune” system, automatically detecting and dispensing an enzyme, for example, deficient due to an inborn error of metabolism. In response to a disease, the agent released is one or more drugs. By directly pipeline-targeting agents through a closed system of drug reservoirs, fluid and electrical lines, and leak-free, durable, and safe tissue connectors to the site of disease, the system achieves a level of efficiency critically superior to the systemic dispersal of an agent into the circulation, fundamentally liberalizing the use of drugs. In comorbid disease, each morbidity is assigned to an arm or channel in a hierarchical control system. Beginning with symptomatic indicia sensors, data is analyzed and passed up through successively higher-level nodes that generate a cross-morbidity view passed up to an implanted microprocessor which effectuates a release of drugs calculated to optimize homeostasis.

Systems and methods for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) include at least one electrically stimulating electrode coupled to a pulse generator. Individuals with GERD are treated by implanting a stimulation device within and/or proximate the patient's lower esophageal sphincter, gastric fundus, or other nearby gastrointestinal structures and applying electrical stimulation to the patient's lower esophageal sphincter and/or fundus, in accordance with certain predefined protocols. Electrical stimulation provided by the disclosed systems results in an increase in the length of the high pressure zone of the LES and/or modulation of the receptive relaxation response of the fundus to decrease gastric pressure, creating a longer barrier to the reflux of gastric contents or increasing functional lower esophageal pressure respectively, thereby treating GERD.

Provided is an intraesophageal electrostimulator configured so that other medical tools can also be easily inserted into an esophagus and misalignment in the esophagus can be reduced. An intraesophageal electrostimulator 100 includes a stimulator body 101, stimulating electrodes 111, 112, and power feed lines 113, 114. The stimulator body 101 is formed, in order to insert the stimulator body 101 into an esophagus S, in an elongated flat plate shape with flexibility in a longitudinal direction. The stimulator body 101 includes a first flat plate member 102, a second flat plate member 103, and an exterior body 104. On one plate surface of the first flat plate member 102, each of the stimulating electrodes 111, 112 is provided so as to protrude from the plate surface. The second flat plate member 103 overlaps with the other plate surface of the first flat plate member 102 such that the second flat plate member 103 and the first flat plate member 102 sandwich the power feed lines 113, 114. The exterior body 104 covers the first flat plate member 102 and the second flat plate member 103 overlapping with each other.

Provided herein as a transoral minimally invasive method and a system thereof for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and/or obesity, which at least partially encircles a part of the gastrointestinal tract, such as esophagus of the patient by advancing an elongated deformable portion of a neurostimulator assembly endoluminally to the subfascial area from the outer wall of the esophagus and introducing the elongated deformable portion sub-fascially in the subfascial area, whereby at least one part of the encircled esophagus will be modulated using a modulator.

A medical device comprising a tube, a first electrode and a second electrode, and a structure at a distal portion of the tube, the structure defining a first section and a second section, wherein the first and second sections are configured to be filled with a conductive medium, wherein the first electrode is contained within the first section, and the second electrode is contained within the second section, and wherein the structure includes a central barrier separating the first section from the second section, and the central barrier is insulative.

A system and method for treating gastroesophageal reflux disease by using an implantation tool to implant a stimulation electrode in a lower esophageal sphincter for stimulation of the lower esophageal sphincter muscle.

A method and apparatus are disclosed for regulating a temperature of an esophagus when heat or cold is delivered to a left atrium, the method including altering a heat exchange device from an insertable configuration to a heat exchanging configuration which conforms and corresponds with a cross-section of an inside of the esophagus such that the esophagus is maintained in its natural shape and location. In some embodiments the heat exchange device has a heating/cooling balloon which is inflated to be in the heat exchanging configuration. Some alternative embodiments includes altering the configuration of the balloon to conform to or correspond with the cross section of an esophagus by means other than inflation.

An apparatus for monitoring EMG signals of a patient's laryngeal muscles includes an endotracheal tube having an exterior surface, and a tube coating applied to the exterior surface via spraying of a homogeneous solution onto the endotracheal tube or immersion of the endotracheal tube in the homogeneous solution. A conductive electrode is formed on the tube coating. The conductive electrode is configured to receive the EMG signals from the laryngeal muscles.