Method and apparatus for treating sleep apnea

Abstract

A method and apparatus for diagnosing sleep apnea and for comfortably fitting an oral device to treat the condition. The patient is screened to reduce snoring using a device which changes the airway, and then using an airway dilation simulator having sequentially sized elements to determine the mandibular position maximizing the upper airway dimension. An oral device is then fabricated to retain the maximum position during sleep.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention relates to sleep apnea, and more particularly, to an apparatus for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, including the method of measuring the airway with the mandible in precisely displaced positions until the airway allows a maximum airflow within the comfort zone of the patient, and then fabricating an appliance to maintain the mandibular position during sleep.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Although sleep apnea has been recognized as a critical life-endangering problem, there are still a limited number of doctors or dentists trained to treat this disorder and a limited number of treatments. The traditional options for treating obstructive sleep apnea, which is a medical condition where there is a blockage of the airway usually caused by the soft tissue in the rear of the throat, which collapses and closes during sleep, are with the nasal continuous positive air pressure (nCPAP), an oral airway dilator or with surgery. The treatments using posi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]With the above-noted prior art and inadequacies in mind, it is the goal of the present invention to provide a simple, straightforward diagnostic tool for obstructive sleep apnea, as well as a simple, accurate tool for determining the optimal position of the mandibular to maximize the air flow while not compromising the comfort of the patient. The diagnostic tool allows the dental personnel to quickly measure the position of the patient's lower jaw when maximizing the air flow to determine the suitability of the possible use of an oral airway dilator.

[0011]The airway dilution simulator comprises a plurality of sequentially sized elements for positioning the mandible as guided by the patients' subjective feedback on their airway changes and comfort. The utilization of the present invention also quickly interfaces with acoustic reflection pharyngometry that measures the upper airway dimension in any of the mandibular positions with this invention, thus permitting the dental personnel to determine the position for maximum air flow.

Problems solved by technology

Although sleep apnea has been recognized as a critical life-endangering problem, there are still a limited number of doctors or dentists trained to treat this disorder and a limited number of treatments.

Some of the common design features in the first generation (OADs) airway dilator resulted in minimal success and gave them a negative image in sleep medicine.

The current CPAPs on the market are expensive, difficult to adjust and largely uncomfortable, and therefore disagreeable to the patient during the diagnosis and fitting process.

Further, a percentage of these devices are non-compliant.

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