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US 2024/0252391 A1Published application
Systems and methods for stimulating swallowing
AssigneePassy-Muir, Inc.
InventorsChristy Leslie Ludlow, Larry Lee Hood
Life of this patent
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AssigneePassy-Muir, Inc.
InventorsChristy Leslie Ludlow, Larry Lee Hood
Estimating the term…
A device includes a first vibrational transducer and a second vibrational transducer. The first vibrational transducer has a first vibrating property. The second vibrotactile stimulator has a second vibrating property different than the first vibrating property. A collar may be configured to position the first vibrational transducer and the second vibrational transducer over a neck of a subject. A method for stimulating swallowing in a subject includes applying a first vibrotactile stimulation and applying a second vibrotactile stimulation to a throat area of the subject. The first vibrotactile stimulation has a first vibrating property and the second vibrotactile stimulation has a second vibrating property different than the first vibrating property. Example vibrating properties include vibrating frequency, vibrating frequency range, wave shape, continuousness, frequency phase, and direction of mechanical force.
-22. (canceled)
A method of stimulating a thyroid cartilage, the method comprising:
The method of claim 22, further comprising applying the vibrotactile stimulation to induce swallowing.
The method of claim 22, further comprising the vibrotactile stimulation to induce speech.
The method of claim 22, wherein the first vibrating property is a first vibrating rate between 50 Hz and 90 Hz, and the second vibrating property is a second vibrating rate between 90 Hz and 130 Hz.
The method of claim 22, wherein the first vibrating property is a first vibrating amplitude and the second vibrating property is a second vibrating amplitude, and wherein the first vibrating amplitude and the second vibrating amplitude are between 100 micron and 1 mm.
The method of claim 22, wherein a pressure applied by the vibrotactile stimulation is between 2 kPa and 6 kPa.
The method of claim 22, further comprising adjusting a band on the collar to tailor a position of the first vibrotactile stimulator and the second vibrotactile stimulator.
The method of claim 22, further comprising recharging the collar.
The method of claim 22, further comprising deactivating the vibrotactile stimulation after a pre-determined duration of time.
The method of claim 22, further comprising manually deactivating the vibrotactile stimulation.
The method of claim 22, further comprising manually activating the vibrotactile stimulation.
The method of claim 22, wherein the first vibrotactile stimulator and the second vibrotactile stimulator are in wireless communication with the control box.
The method of claim 22, further comprising manually selecting the first vibrating property or the second vibrating property.
The method of claim 22, further comprising automatically activating the vibrotactile stimulation after a predetermined duration of time.
The method of claim 22, further comprising delaying the vibrotactile stimulation based on an input received from a sensor.
The method of claim 22, further comprising monitoring compliance by recording usage data on the control box.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.