Needle and introducer used in lead placement for obstructive sleep apnea treatment
AssigneeMedtronic Xomed, Inc.
InventorsAvram Scheiner, David C. Hacker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is described. The system may include a locking device having a size and shape selected to couple to skin along a jaw of a patient. The locking device may be configured to receive at least one of a needle or an introducer for insertion into a tongue of the patient for lead placement of a lead for OSA treatment, and lock at least a portion of the at least one of the needle or introducer in place to reduce movement of the needle or introducer within the tongue.
Claims20
A system for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the system comprising:
- a locking device having a size and shape selected to couple to skin along a jaw of a patient, wherein the locking device is configured to:
- receive at least one of a needle or an introducer for insertion into a tongue of the patient for lead placement of a lead for OSA treatment;
- and
- lock at least a portion of the at least one of the needle or introducer in place to reduce movement of the needle or introducer within the tongue.
A system for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the system comprising:
- a locking device comprising conductive adhesive for coupling to skin along a jaw of a patient, wherein the locking device is configured to:
- receive at least one of a needle or an introducer for insertion into a tongue of the patient for lead placement of a lead for OSA treatment;
- and
- lock at least a portion of the at least one of the needle or introducer in place to reduce movement of the needle or introducer within the tongue;
- and
- an external medical device coupled to at least one of the needle or the introducer and the conductive adhesive of the locking device, wherein the external medical device is configured to output stimulation signals through one or more conductive portions of the needle or the introducer for stimulating one or more motor points of a protrusor muscle in the tongue of the patient, and wherein the conductive adhesive provides at least a partial current return path for the stimulation signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.