Acronyms and Glossary

Amplitude	The maximum strength of the current delivered along the electrical waves (wires) from the gastric stimulator to the stomach
CCAC	Community Care Access Centre. Community Agency that coordinates nursing and other services for patients who need them. Sometimes called Home Care, but that doesn't truly reflect the breadth of services offered.
Enteral Nutrition	Nutrition infused directly into the gut via a GJ tube
GES	Gastric Electro-stimulation
G-J Tube	Gastro-Jejeunestal tube. A feeding tube inserted into the small intestine. A nutritional formula is infused directly into the gut.
HDE	Humanitarian Device Exemption
HHS	Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation - includes McMaster University Site, Chedoke, Hamilton General, Henderson General Hospitals and Juravinski Cancer Centre
HPN	Home Parenteral Nutrition.
Impedance	A measurement taken to see the resistance between the patient's body and the device. Impedance is extremely high immediately following implantation and should decrease in value as the body begins to accept the device.
LYS	Life Year Saved. Life Years gained by a patient through use of new therapy
MAS	Medical Advisory Secretariat
MBS	Management Board Secretariat
MHLTC	Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Also MOH
MUMC	McMaster University Medical Centre
OHTAC	Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee
Parenteral Nutrition	Nutrition formulation infused intravenously. Also called TPN: Total Parenteral Nutrition
QALY	Quality Adjusted Life Year. A factor which quantifies a patient's quality of life in one year. 0.5 is recognized as the QALY for a bed-ridden patient
Volts	Electrical potential between two points along a connecting wire. In the WAVESS study, the voltage of the gastric stimulator was set to a constant of 2.6 v.