Apparatus and method for mitigating sleep and other disorders through electromuscular stimulation

An electromuscular stimulator for providing electrical stimulation to tissues within the mouth of a user, comprising:

• a first electrode for making electrical contact with a first intraoral anatomical structure selected from the group consisting of a hard palate, a soft palate and a pharynx;
• a second electrode for making electrical contact with a second intraoral anatomical structure;
• a control unit operably connected to the first and second electrodes;
• an intraoral member adapted to position the first and second electrodes intraorally relative to the first and second anatomical structures, respectively;
• and
• an air channel operably connected to said intraoral member and having an intraoral end and an extraoral end, said extraoral end comprising a tube adapted for location outside the user's mouth when in use to provide a free flow of air between the user and ambient atmosphere.

An electromuscular stimulator for providing electrical stimulation to tissues within the mouth of a user, comprising:

• a first electrode for making electrical contact with a first intraoral anatomical structure selected from the group consisting of a hard palate, a soft palate and a pharynx;
• a second electrode for making electrical contact with a second intraoral anatomical structure;
• an intraoral member adapted to position the first and second electrodes intraorally relative to the first and second anatomical structures, respectively;
• an intraoral control unit operably connected to the first and second electrodes;
• and
• an extraoral control unit in operable communication with the intraoral control unit through an electromagnetic signal;
• wherein each of the intraoral control unit and the extraoral control unit further comprises an electromagnetic signal communication device selected from the group consisting of a transmitter, a receiver and a transceiver for communicating the electromagnetic signal between the intraoral control unit and the extraoral control unit.

An electromuscular stimulator for providing electrical stimulation to tissues within the mouth of a user, comprising:

• a first electrode for making electrical contact with a first intraoral anatomical structure selected from the group consisting of a hard palate, a soft palate and a pharynx;
• a second electrode for making electrical contact with a second intraoral anatomical structure;
• a control unit operably connected to the first and second electrodes, the control unit comprising an electrical signal generator and further comprising a controller operatively connected to the electrical signal generator for activating the electrical signal generator;
• and
• an intraoral member for positioning the first and second electrodes intraorally relative to the first and second anatomical structures, respectively.