Bioinspired, ingestible electroceutical capsules for hunger-regulating hormone modulation.

Journal: Science robotics
PMID: 37099636

Abstract

The gut-brain axis, which is mediated via enteric and central neurohormonal signaling, is known to regulate a broad set of physiological functions from feeding to emotional behavior. Various pharmaceuticals and surgical interventions, such as motility agents and bariatric surgery, are used to modulate this axis. Such approaches, however, are associated with off-target effects or post-procedure recovery time and expose patients to substantial risks. Electrical stimulation has also been used to attempt to modulate the gut-brain axis with greater spatial and temporal resolution. Electrical stimulation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, however, has generally required invasive intervention for electrode placement on serosal tissue. Stimulating mucosal tissue remains challenging because of the presence of gastric and intestinal fluid, which can influence the effectiveness of local luminal stimulation. Here, we report the development of a bioinspired ingestible fluid-wicking capsule for active stimulation and hormone modulation (FLASH) capable of rapidly wicking fluid and locally stimulating mucosal tissue, resulting in systemic modulation of an orexigenic GI hormone. Drawing inspiration from the "thorny devil" lizard with water-wicking skin, we developed a capsule surface capable of displacing fluid. We characterized the stimulation parameters for modulation of various GI hormones in a porcine model and applied these parameters to an ingestible capsule system. FLASH can be orally administered to modulate GI hormones and is safely excreted with no adverse effects in porcine models. We anticipate that this device could be used to treat metabolic, GI, and neuropsychiatric disorders noninvasively with minimal off-target effects.

Authors

  • Khalil B Ramadi
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • James C McRae
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • George Selsing
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Arnold Su
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Rafael Fernandes
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Maela Hickling
    Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Brandon Rios
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Sahab Babaee
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Seokkee Min
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Declan Gwynne
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Neil Zixun Jia
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Aleyah Aragon
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Keiko Ishida
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Johannes Kuosmanen
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Josh Jenkins
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Alison Hayward
    Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
  • Ken Kamrin
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • Giovanni Traverso
    David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: cgt20@mit.edu.

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