FAQ

There have been media reports of children being harmed after swallowing magnets from various toys like Mattel’s “Polly Pocket” dolls and MEGA Brands’ “Magnetix” construction set. Can the B-Caplet™ cause similar harm?

No. It is crucial to note that bare magnets that had been pulled out of the toys caused the toy-related injuries; they were not encapsulated like Gorham’s. An independent test of the defective models of toys found that the bare magnets were so strong that two magnets can magnetically “see” each other from adjacent loops of intestine and approximate the bowel loops with pinching pressures starting as high as 850 mmHg. This leads to ischemia, necrosis, and eventually a fistula. In the Springfield, MA study, the magnetic attraction of B-Caplet plastic cubes proved far too weak to hold the loops of intestines together against normal jostling and intestinal motility.

How long will a patient have the B-Caplet™ inside them?

Like gastric surgery and the Lap-Band, treatment with the B-Caplet™ will generally be permanent. However, for those patients who have adverse outcomes such as losing too much weight or those who feel they can maintain on their own, their procedures can be reversed with a special demagnetizing machine, similar to a small MRI. The reversing procedure only takes a few minutes.

Can the magnetic caplets be demagnetized unintentionally, for example through exposure to strong magnetic fields in an industrial setting, or at airports, or by undergoing an MRI?

No. Only a specialized machine generating a high-intensity, highly tailored magnetic waveform is capable of demagnetizing a B-Caplet™.

What percentage of caplets will a human retain, on average, and will treatment include the replacement of lost caplets on an ongoing basis?

Approximately 90% of B-Caplet™ tessellate (find a spot at which they can attach) and perpetually stay in the stomach. Weight loss is caused by leaving only a small portion of the gastric lumen available—around 20%. Some patients will try to eat around their therapy and after long periods, even a slight expansion in stomach volume can lead to weight gain. Patients’ prescriptions can be titrated upwards to replace lost cubes or an enlarged stomach.

Can B-Caplet™ block the pyloric outlet?

No. Peristaltic action melds the aggregate into the shape of the stomach lumen. Agglomerations within the main gastric lumen are fairly large whereas those near the distal end of the stomach look more like tubes. Peristaltic forces increase as the diameter of the lumen decreases, so if small agglomerations of cubes are broken off or disassociated into individual cubes, they will pass.

Will patients with B-Caplet™ trigger magnetometers at airports?

Yes, it is possible, particularly magnetometers with sensitive settings. Patients will be given a card similar to those provided to patients with hip or knee implants to facilitate the screening process.

Can patients with B-Caplet™ undergo imaging in an MRI?

Yes, this was tested during the pig studies. There are no adverse effects with MRIs featuring field strengths up to at least 1.5 tesla, which represents the vast majority of MRIs in use today.