Dean Kamen has been responsible for a whole slew of inventions, some beneficial and some less so. The latest creation with his name on it, described in a patent application filed on January 3 of this year, falls more into the "less so" category.

The patent application, titled "APPARATUS FOR TREATING OBESITY BY EXTRACTING FOOD," describes a device and method for sticking a tube into a person's stomach and allowing them to eat whatever they want, and then to eject the masticated but undigested food into a convenient toilet. The idea is to reduce the amount of calories your body absorbs by yanking the food out of your stomach, after you've enjoyed eating it but before it makes its way into your digestive tract.

Lest you think that the contents of your stomach are safe and the invention exists only on paper, a company called Aspire Bariatrics already offers the system in Europe, proudly proclaiming, "The AspireAssist Aspiration Therapy System received CE mark approval in December 2011 to market in the European Union, and is now commercially available in selected regions in Europe and beyond." The company's website notes that the device and procedure aren't yet approved for use in the USA; that (and the FDA) are presumably the reasoning behind filing the patent.

The goal is to cut down food and calorie intake by about 30 percent. Aspire Bariatrics' site notes that the device should be used about twenty minutes after each main meal and that it sucks out about a third of the food eaten from that meal, slurping out the chyme and replacing it with some amount of water. Aspire Bariatrics is quick to point out on its FAQ page that this is not bulimia:

Aspiration Therapy does not cause bulimia. Bulimia is a psychological illness characterized by excessive and uncontrolled binging episodes followed by purging. Bulimia is medically unsupervised, while Aspiration Therapy is under the control of a physician and electrolytes and metabolites are carefully monitored. One of the primary dangers of bulimia is the damage to the teeth and esophagus due to stomach acid; Aspiration Therapy poses no such risk.

When coupled with lifestyle modification, the device provides "portion control without deprivation," letting folks still enjoy the sating effects of eating to fullness while at the same time reducing the full caloric impact of what's in the stomach (by removing the stomach's contents). It's a bit extreme, and the hair between bulimia and medically supervised food removal seems to be split very thinly, but it's an option.

Though if I may be permitted one small editorial comment: Eeew. Just... eeew.