1. A method for generating a non-linear discussion set comprising:
combining actions performed by a user into an echo,
storing echoes from the user and other users,
associating to a common binder selected actions in the stored echoes that comprise predefined binder criteria,
generating a discussion set comprising actions and users associated with the binder,
displaying the discussion set to the viewing user.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the binder is created and defined from user action, and subsequent user actions that comprise the specific predefined binder criteria are associated with the binder.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating at least one view of the discussion set, the view including but not limited to: 1) at least one action and at least one binder associated with at least one selected user; 2) at least one action and at least one user associated with at least one selected binder; and 3) a list of at least one binder and a summary of at least one action associated with at least one selected binder.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising
storing personalized notes from users to binders, and making the personalized notes visible to users according to a rank on social relevance of the authoring user to the viewing user.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising
associating echoes and related binders, actions and users into discussions with specific topics.
6. The method of claim 3, further comprising
generating a navigable user list, displaying the navigable user list to the viewing user, and further displaying a discussion set associated with a user that is selected.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising
generating and displaying a summary representation of each user in the navigable user list, each summary representation including an aggregate of the actions by each user within the discussion set as well as a summary representation of a relationship of the viewing user with the actions.
8. The method of claim 3, further comprising
generating a navigable binder list;
displaying the navigable binder list to the viewing user; and
displaying a discussion set associated with a binder that is selected.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising
generating and displaying a summary representations for each binder in the navigable binder list, each summary representation including an aggregate of actions performed on each binder as well as a summary representation of a relationship of the viewing user with the actions.
10. The method of claim 5, further comprising
displaying information of multiple discussions and discussion sets including a recent and relevant action within each discussion set, the information including, but not limited to one or more of a graphic representation of users who have performed actions in the discussion set, a count of actions taken, a count of unviewed actions by users, user-specific emotions, and a date of a last action by a user.
11. The method of claim 5, further comprising
filtering of discussions, echoes, binders, actions and users for greater social relevance to the viewing user.
12. A system comprising:
one or more computers; and
a computer-readable medium coupled to one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a computing device, a submitted action by a user;
associating the submitted action to a binder;
storing submitted action in a database;
combining submitted actions by users into echoes;
receiving, from a computing device, a request to view a discussion set comprised of binders, actions and users associated with one or more echoes;
generating requested discussion set;
transmitting requested discussion set for display in a respective page associated with the account of the requesting user.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the binder is created and defined from user action, and subsequent user actions that comprise the specific predefined binder criteria are associated with the binder.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:
generating at least one view of the discussion set, the view including but not limited to: 1) at least one action and binder associated with at least one selected user; 2) at least one action and at least one user associated with at least one selected binder; and 3) a list of at least one binder and summaries of at least one action associated with at least one binder.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:
storing notes by users on a specific binder; and
transmitting the notes with the associated binder for display to a requesting user with the visibility of the notes dependent upon the social relevance of the authoring user to the viewing user.
16. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:
associating echoes and related binders, actions and users into discussions with specific topics.
17. The system of claim 16 wherein the operations further comprise:
generating a navigable user list;
transmitting the user list for display to a viewing user; and
receiving and processing a request from a viewing user to view the associated data set of a selected user.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the navigable user list includes summary representations for each user, with each summary including an aggregate of the user’s actions within the discussion as well as representations of the viewing user’s relationship with those actions.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:
retrieving a consolidated data set comprised of multiple discussion summaries, which summaries may include but are not limited to: 1) the discussion topic, 2) a description of the discussion, 3) related links, tags and media, 4) navigable user list including summary data comprised of the actions of the user relative to the discussion;
filtering of data set for social relevance to the requesting user; and
transmitting of retrieved data set for the display in a respective page associated with the account of the requesting user.
20. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:
filtering of discussions, binders, actions and users for greater social relevance to the viewing user; and
transmitting the filtered data for display to the viewing user.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An intragastrointestinal device comprising:
a body portion that is configured to be placed within at least a portion of a gastrointestinal tract lumen, the body portion having at least one device lumen extending therethrough that provides a restrictive element to restrict passage of food andor fluid through the body portion, at least one dimension of the device lumen being manually adjustable by a user to any one of a plurality of different dimensions to vary a rate of flow through the device lumen; and
at least one fixation element located at a first end of the body portion, the fixation element being manually adjustable by the user to a plurality of states having different dimensions to aid in the fixation of the body portion in the gastrointestinal tract lumen, the fixation element being adjustable separate from the device lumen.
2. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the body portion is configured to be positioned in proximity to a stricture point.
3. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 2, wherein the stricture point is selected from a group comprising: a naturally occurring narrowing of a gastrointestinal tract lumen, a narrowing formed by at least a portion of a band of material wrapped around at least a portion of the gastrointestinal tract, an anastomosis between at least two lumens or cavities, a surgical opening between at least two lumens or cavities, and a constriction or restriction of at least a portion of a gastrointestinal tract lumen caused by at least a portion of a pathology.
4. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 2, further comprising at least one flanged portion located at a second end of the body portion that is adapted to at least aid in the fixation of the device in proximity to the stricture point.
5. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 2, wherein the at least one device lumen is adjustable such that no intragastrointestinal content, including swallowed food andor fluid, can pass through the stricture point.
6. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, wherein the at least one dimension of the device lumen comprises a diameter of the device lumen.
7. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, further comprising at least one expandable reservoir that is manually adjustable to a plurality of different states to adjust the dimension of the device lumen.
8. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 7, further comprising a reservoir port that at least partially allows the adjustment of the device lumen dimension, wherein the reservoir port is configured and arranged to be located at least one location selected from a group comprising: a location partially within the gastrointestinal lumen, and a location partially outside the gastrointestinal lumen.
9. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 8, wherein the expandable reservoir contains at least one medium selected from a group comprising: a fluid, and a gas.
10. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 9, wherein the reservoir port comprises a membrane, and wherein the medium can be added to or removed from the reservoir through the membrane either endoscopically, percutaneously, or a combination of the two.
11. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 8, wherein the reservoir port is configured and arranged to be located at least partially outside the gastrointestinal lumen and the adjustment of the at least one device lumen dimension is accomplished percutaneously through the skin with a syringe or needle.
12. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, wherein the device lumen is adjustable to provide a specified rate of flow of food andor fluid through the gastrointestinal tract lumen.
13. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, wherein the device is configured to be deployed by at least a method selected from a group comprising: an open surgical procedure, a laparoscopic surgical procedure, and an at least partially flexible endoscopic procedure.
14. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, wherein the device is configured to be used as at least a portion of a medical procedure selected from a group comprising: a bariatric procedure, a gastrointestinal procedure, a general surgery procedure, and a procedure related to gastric reflux disease.
15. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 1, further comprising at least one distal portion that is coupled to the body portion and is configured to at least partially act as a malabsorptive device element.
16. An intragastrointestinal device comprising:
a body portion that is configured to be placed within at least a portion of a gastrointestinal tract lumen, the body portion having a device lumen to allow passage of food andor fluid therethrough, at least a portion of the body portion having an outer surface that defines an outer width thereof and is configured to extend through a stricture point, at least one dimension of the device lumen being manually adjustable by a user to any one of a plurality of different dimensions to vary a rate of flow through the device lumen; and
at least one adjustable portion located at a first end of the body portion and configured to be positioned only on a first side of the stricture point, the adjustable portion being manually adjustable by a user to a plurality of states with different dimensions to vary the size of the first end, at least one of the states setting the size of the first end to be greater than the outer width of the portion of the body portion to at least aid in the fixation of the intragastrointestinal device in proximity to the stricture point.
17. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, wherein the stricture point is selected from a group comprising: a naturally occurring narrowing of a gastrointestinal tract lumen, a narrowing formed by at least a portion of a band of material wrapped around at least a portion of the gastrointestinal tract, an anastomosis between at least two lumens or cavities, a surgical opening between at least two lumens or cavities, and a constriction or restriction of at least a portion of a gastrointestinal tract lumen caused by at least a portion of a pathology.
18. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, wherein the at least one adjustable portion comprises a flanged portion.
19. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, wherein the at least one adjustable portion is adjustable to at least one of the states selected from a group comprising: a state wherein the dimensions of the adjustable portion and the body portion together are greater than an inner dimension of the stricture point, and a state wherein the dimensions of the adjustable portion and the body portion together are less than an inner dimension of the stricture point.
20. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, wherein the at least one adjustable portion comprises an expandable reservoir that is manually adjustable to a plurality of different states.
21. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, further comprising a flanged portion located at a second end of the body portion, the flanged portion configured and arranged to be positioned on a second side of the stricture point, the flanged portion having a width that is greater than the outer width of the portion of the body portion to aid in the fixation of the intragastrointestinal device in proximity to the stricture point.
22. An intragastrointestinal device as in claim 16, further comprising at least one adjustable portion located at a second end of the body portion and configured to be positioned only on a second side of the stricture point, the adjustable portion being manually adjustable by a user to a plurality of states with different dimensions to vary the size of the second end, at least one of the states setting the size of the second end to be greater than the outer width of the portion of the body portion to at least aid in the fixation of the intragastrointestinal device in proximity to the stricture point.