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US 2003/0196669 A1Published application
Needle with pre-loaded implant for snoring treatment
AssigneePi Medical, Inc.
InventorsTimothy R. Conrad, Mark B. Knudson
Life of this patent
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AssigneePi Medical, Inc.
InventorsTimothy R. Conrad, Mark B. Knudson
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for use in treating snoring of a patient suffering from snoring includes an implant of bio-compatible material sized to be embedded within the soft palate. The implant is disposed within a bore of a distal tip of a needle for penetration into the soft palate. The bore is sized to receive a rod from a proximal end of the needle with the rod opposing the implant to eject the implant from the distal tip upon relative sliding movement of said needle and said rod. The needle at the distal tip is perforated for fluid to flow through a wall of the needle into engagement with the implant. The implant is selected to altering a dynamic response of the soft palate to airflow past the soft palate.
A kit for use in treating snoring of a patient suffering from snoring attributable, at in least in part, to a snoring sound generated by oscillation of a soft palate of said patient in response to airflow past said soft palate, said kit comprising the following in combination:
A kit for use in treating snoring of a patient suffering from snoring attributable, at in least in part, to a snoring sound generated by oscillation of a soft palate of said patient in response to airflow past said soft palate, said kit comprising the following in combination:
A kit for use in treating snoring of a patient suffering from snoring attributable, at in least in part, to a snoring sound generated by oscillation of a soft palate of said patient in response to airflow past said soft palate, said kit comprising the following in combination:
A kit for use in treating snoring of a patient suffering from snoring attributable, at in least in part, to a snoring sound generated by oscillation of a soft palate of said patient in response to airflow past said soft palate, said kit comprising the following in combination:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Filters implantable into blood vessels
Devices for preventing snoring: intra-oral devices
Filters implantable into blood vessels; Prostheses, i.e. artificial substitutes or replacements for parts of the body; Appliances for connecting…:…
Filters implantable into blood vessels
Term end not estimated
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to methods and apparatuses for treating snoring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a portion of a human head showing a soft palate in a relaxed state and in relation in adjacent anatomical features;
FIG. 2 is a portion of the view of FIG. 1 showing the soft palate in a flexed state;
FIG. 3 is a front view of an interior of the mouth shown in FIG. 1 and showing an area to be ablated according to a first prior art surgical procedure;
For ease of understanding the present invention, the dynamics of snoring are explained with reference to FIGS. 1-4. The hard palate HP overlies the tongue T and forms the roof of the mouth M. The hard palate HP includes a bone support B and does not materially deform during breathing. The soft palate SP is soft and is made up of mucous membrane, fibrous and muscle tissue extending rearward from the hard palate HP. A leading end LE of the soft palate SP is anchored to the trailing end of the hard palate HP. A trailing end TE of the soft palate SP is unattached. Since the soft palate SP is not structurally supported by bone or hard cartilage, the soft palate SP droops down from the plane of the hard palate HP in an arcuate geometry of repose.
The pharyngeal airway passes air from the mouth M and the nasal passages N into the trachea TR. The portion of the pharyngeal airway defined between opposing surfaces of the upper surface of the soft palate SP and the wall of the throat is the nasopharynx NP.
During normal breathing, the soft palate SP is in the relaxed state shown in FIG. 1 with the nasopharynx NP unobstructed and with air free to flow into the trachea TR from both the mouth M and the nostrils N.