Clear Lake man gets patent for new type of liver treatment

A man from the Clear Lake area and his research partner have earned a U.S. patent for a new kind of medical treatment.

The patent describes a new way of using electrical stimulation of the liver to treat various problems in the body. The inventors claim their device could be helpful in addressing metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and eating disorders. Devices based on the technology could also be used to reduce patients' glucose levels, they say.

The inventors named in the patent are Pankaj J. Pasricha and Jiande Chen. Both once lived in the Clear Lake area and worked in the University of Texas system, but Pasricha has since taken a position at Stanford University. Chen is currently a professor with the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

The official number for the patent is 7,881,784. It was originally filed on June 14, 2007 and was approved on Feb. 1. The University of Texas Board of Regents is listed as the owner of the patent.