The Irish company Crospon Limited recently received a grant of more than a million dollars to improve gastric banding techniques.
Sources say the company will use this money to modify a device that already exists, called EndoFLIP, which is designed to measure the dimensions and function of hollow organs in the gastrointestinal tract.
The company is now working on a new BaroFLIP device that will allow a surgeon to accurately measure both the size of the pouch and the food passage that he creates for a patient during gastric banding surgery.
Being able to take these measurements during the operation may eliminate the need for patients to return later to have a doctor adjust their band. Also, some gastric band patients fail to lose weight at an expected rate after they have surgery. If successful, the new BaroFLIP device will help doctors assess the size of the patient’s food pouch better than ever before.
