Method of treating obstructive sleep apnea using electrical nerve stimulation
AssigneeCase Western Reserve University
InventorsDominique Durand, Paul Yoo
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Abstract
A method for treating a medical condition, such as obstructive sleep apnea, includes the step of stimulating a nerve, particularly the hypoglossal nerve, using at least one of the following techniques: (a) continuous low-level electrical stimulation; (b) electrical stimulation synchronized with a physical process, such as inspiration, without feedback from the nerve being stimulated; and (c) intermittent electrical stimulation at controlled intervals based on the patient's metabolism.
Claims22
A method for controlling the patency of a patient's airway, comprising the step of electrically stimulating a nerve to activate a muscle, including the step of intermittently stimulating the nerve at predetermined intervals based on a patient's metabolism.
A method for treating sleep apnea, comprising the step of continuously electrically stimulating at least one fascicle of the hypoglossal nerve at a predetermined amplitude of about 10% less than the threshold amplitude necessary to activate a muscle of a patient up to approximately the patient's threshold activation amplitude.
A method for controlling the patency of a patient's airway, comprising the steps of electrically stimulating a nerve, and initiating the stimulating step in response to a physical process other than a signal from the nerve being stimulated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.