Anti-Obesity Implants

From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Wed Mar 05 2003 - 14:00:53 MST

  • Next message: Dickey, Michael F: "RE: Obesity (was Extropic Priniciples)"

    --- "Dickey, Michael F"
    <michael_f_dickey@groton.pfizer.com> wrote:
    > I personally think the most extropic thing
    > extropians could do in regards to
    > the obesity 'problem' is to create a simple,
    > inexpensive, and attractive
    > manner for the average person to easily overcome
    > their obesity problem.
    > This has all-ready been solved in concept in a
    > suggestion I saw another list
    > member make, I believe it was Spike but I am not
    > positive.

    Actually, I think I may have been the one to describe
    the device you mention. I don't keep a list of all
    posts I've made in my head (yet: my memory has
    presently not been upgraded sufficiently), but I know
    I've been thinking about a device like that for quite
    a while, before I even heard of the Extropians.

    > A cheap, simple implant anyone could get. Ideally,
    > it would be even better
    > if such a device could power external electronic
    > devices.

    It'd produce miniscule amounts of power - but then,
    many devices only need miniscule amounts of power.
    So, no using yourself as a battery for an electric
    car, but you could maybe use this to run (or at least
    trickle-recharge, when it's not actively being used) a
    PDA. But the first versions would probably have very
    low efficiency in power conversion, and as such could
    not generate any usable amount of energy - though what
    energy they do generate would have to be disposed of
    somehow (possibly via an inductive loop, the second
    part of which is placed on or near the skin near the
    implant every day, maybe week, to activate the
    discharge so as to avoid needing wires or sockets
    permanently sticking out of the skin).

    > I found this idea quite fascinating when it was
    > proposed on this list a few
    > months back, it didn't seem to generate much
    > interest, but it's a great idea
    > IMHO. In my own limited research into the topic I
    > found a class of fuel
    > cells called 'Microbial Fuel Cells' which do just
    > this, and they are being
    > researched to power robots called 'Gastrobots' since
    > they function on a
    > 'stomach'

    Actually, MFCs seem to run on starch. You'd need to
    adapt them to run on glucose. But I see no reason it
    could not be done in theory.

    > There are a heck of a lot of intelligent electrical
    > engineering, physics,
    > and chemistry people on this list, perhaps a
    > calloborative effort could
    > bring such a device into existence.

    The electrical bits of this, including controllers,
    would be relatively easy. It's the biochemical parts
    that present the biggest challenge. But the biggest
    challenge, at least to us, would seem to be the
    practical matters of actually doing it.

    For starters: assuming we agreed on an enzyme or
    controllable microbe that one could expose to glucose
    in the blood stream, how would we manufacture a
    prototype? How would we test it? (Yes, it's great to
    say, "in theory, one could do animal testing". Does
    any of us have the appropriate equipment or licenses
    for this? If not, how could we obtain such?)
    Granted, one could start up a business around this
    product alone, so that presents one possible source of
    funding (VCs). But that'll only open up to those who
    at least sound like they know how to do what they wish
    to do...



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