Method and device for the prevention of snoring and sleep apnea
OwnerPatrick Raymond Brady, Gerhard Emil Maale +1inventors
InventorsPatrick Raymond Brady, Gerhard Emil Maale, Holly Neville
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Abstract
Snoring and sleep apnea are prevented by advancing the mandible of an individual during sleep. Instead of using an intra-oral device that has the potential to cause movement of the teeth, an extra-oral device is used, having a headpiece attached to an occipital piece which rests against the occipital bone behind the skull and an adjustable device attached to the occipital piece that is a capable of pressing against the posterior angle of the mandible to cause the force that maintains the mandible in the forward position to be transmitted to the head, rather than the teeth.
Claims18
A device, comprising:
- a headpiece that fits to a given human head in a stable manner;
- a neck piece that lies against the back of the neck;
- and
- first and second adjustable devices, said devices being operatively attached to said neck piece, wherein said first and second adjustable devices are capable of maintaining the mandible in a position anterior to its normal resting position.
A device for preventing snoring, comprising:
- a framework adapted to attach to a human head in a removable manner;
- a first adjustable device and a second adjustable device, each of said devices being attached to said framework at the back of the neck, wherein, when said framework is seated on a designated human head, a second end of each of said devices extends towards the posterior part of the mandible;
- and
- wherein said first and second devices are adjustable to provide an anteriorly directed force against the mandible.
A method for preventing snoring and sleep apnea in a person, comprising the steps of:
- removably seating a framework on the head of the person;
- attaching a pair of adjustable devices to said framework so that said pair of adjustable devices are adjusted forward to exert a force on the mandible of the person sufficient to maintain the mandible in a protruded position relative to the maxilla.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.