Obstructive sleep apnea treatment devices, systems and methods

A method of treating obstructive sleep apnea by innervating a mechanoreceptor within a patient's upper airway via stimulating a superior laryngeal nerve including both afferent and efferent fibers, the method comprising:

• chronically implanting a nerve cuff adjacent a portion of a superior laryngeal nerve:
• sensing a biological parameter indicative of respiration, wherein the biological parameter includes impedance;
• analyzing the sensed biological parameter to identify onsets of expiration;
• calculating a respiratory period from the onsets of expiration;
• predicting the onset of a future expiratory phase;
• and
• beginning stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve a fraction of the calculated respiratory period before the onset of the future expiratory phase, and continuing stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve during an entire inspiratory phase, wherein the method is performed without identifying an onset of the inspiratory phase.