A process and device for treating obesity and syndromes related to motor
disorders of the stomach of a patient is provided. The process includes
artificially altering, by means of electrical pulses for preset periods
of time, the natural gastric motility of the patient to prevent the
emptying of or to slow down gastric transit through the stomach to
increase the feeling of satiety and/or to accelerate intestinal transit
to reduce absorption time within the intestinal tract. More specifically,
the electrical stimulation induces tachygastria, which inhibits gastric
motility, yields gastric distention, and delays gastric emptying. The
tachygastrial electrical stimulation of the stomach, or other portions of
the gastrointestinal tract, includes relatively long pulse widths, with
lengths of up to 500 milliseconds.