83 results about "Pharyngeal part" patented technology

An electrode for placement in a human mouth for the measurement of muscle activity in the pharyngeal airway. The electrode includes at least one leg extending from a planer face so as to make electrical contact with the genioglossus muscle. The electrode permits a reduction in the number of patients requiring overnight polysomnography to prediagnose people with sleep apnea.

A pharyngeal airway having a pharyngeal wall of a patient at least partially surrounding and defining the airway is treated by selecting an implant dimensioned so as to be implanted at or beneath a mucosal layer of the pharyngeal wall and extending transverse to said wall. The implant has mechanical characteristics for the implant, at least in combination with a fibrotic tissue response induced by the implant, to stiffen said pharyngeal wall to resist radial collapse. The implant is implanted into the pharyngeal wall transverse to a longitudinal axis of the airway.

A method for treating an oropharyngeal disorder in a patient by neuromuscular electrical stimulation includes selectively placing a plurality of electrodes in electrical contact with tissue of a pharyngeal region of the patient. The method also includes the steps of providing a pulse generator for generating a series of electrical pulses, each of which comprises a biphasic symmetrical waveform with an interval between the two phases, and attaching the plurality of electrodes to the pulse generator so that the series of electrical pulses may be provided to the patient through the plurality of electrodes. According to the method, a series of electrical pulses, each of which comprises a biphasic symmetrical waveform with an interval between the two phases, is generated, and said series of electrical pulses is provided to the patient through the plurality of electrodes. An apparatus for generating a series of electrical pulses for application of electrical neuromuscular stimulation to a patient through a plurality of electrodes for treatment of oropharyngeal disorders includes a pulse generator which generates a series of electrical pulses, each of which pulses comprises a biphasic symmetrical waveform with an interval between the two phases. The apparatus includes an intensity control circuit for regulating the series of electrical pulses such that the intensity of the electrical pulses does not exceed a predetermined value, a frequency controller for controlling the frequency at which the series of electrical pulses is generated so that such pulses are generated at a predetermined frequency, and a duration control circuit for controlling the duration of each such electrical pulse.

A pharyngeal airway adjuster, or mandible positioning device, has a maxillary dentition engagement component and a mandibular dentition engagement component, each on opposite sides of a plane extending therebetween. An adjustable connection couples the maxillary dentition engagement component with the mandibular dentition engagement component. The adjustable connection has a first adjustment screw having a longitudinal axis parallel to the plane and a second adjustment screw having a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the plane. The first and second adjustable screws are independently adjustable and structured to effect horizontal and vertical displacement, respectively, of the maxillary dentition engagement component relative to the mandibular dentition engagement component. The pharyngeal airway adjuster has a number of indicators adapted to indicate the amount of forwardly and rearwardly displacement effected by the first adjustment screw and / or the amount of upwardly and downwardly displacement effected by the second adjustment screw.

An oropharyngeal device for insertion into the mouth of a patient. The device includes a body having a distal end and a proximal end with a flange formed at the proximal end. The distal end is inserted into the mouth until the flange is disposed outside and adjacent to the patient's mouth. The flange keeps the proximal device from entering the mouth. The body is sized such that the distal end of the body is disposed within the pharynx above the epiglottis. The device includes a channel that forms an airway between the ends. The device also includes at least three separate conduits integrated into the body for administering oxygen, suctioning, and for assessing ventilation thorough end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring. The conduits for oxygenation and suctioning extend through the body between its proximal and distal ends. The conduit for end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring terminates within the channel.

A gastro-laryngeal mask features softly compliant construction of the distal half of the mask, wherein the mask is of generally elliptical configuration, with an inflatable peripheral cuff to seal and support the mask around the laryngeal inlet. A back cushion is inflatable to engage the back wall of the pharynx and thus to forwardly load the peripheral-cuff seal to the laryngeal inlet. An evacuation tube for external removal of a possible gastric discharge completes an evacuation or discharge passage contained within the mask and opening through the distal end of the peripheral cuff. Special provision is made for assuring integrity of the discharge passage within the flexible distal half of the mask, i.e., assuring against collapse of the distal-end half of the softly compliant evacuation tube in the distal region of the mask, such that inflation of the mask does not compromise viability of the evacuation tube by compressing softly compliant material of the evacuation tube during periods of mask inflation. The special provision also favors such collapse of the mask when deflated as to provide a leading flexible edge for piloting a safe and correct advancing insertional advance of the deflated mask in the patient's throat, in avoidance of epiglottis interference and to the point of locating engagement in the upper sphincter of the oesophagus.

To assess the sensitivity of a subject's pharynx, an open mouthpiece (1) fitted with a thin guide tube (2), having an articulated end (4), is inserted into the subject's mouth. A pipe (9) is inserted into the guide tube, under visual observation through the mouthpiece, until it touches the subject's palate. The position on a measurement scale (11) provided on the pipe facing a second end of the guide tube is noted, and the pipe is withdrawn over a preset distance, for example 1 cm, and fixed in this position onto the guide tube. A variable gas flow is injected into the pipe and reaches the pharyngeal mucous situated facing the pipe. The sensitivity of the subject's pharynx, measured by the threshold of sense perception, is determined by the lowest flow value perceived by the subject.

A brain cooling apparatus includes a tube body 2 which can maintain an airway in the respiratory tract of living body; a pharyngeal cuff 5 which is provided in the peripheral part of this tube body 2 and can store a cooled fluid; and an injection and discharge portion 6 which can inject and discharge a fluid into and from this pharyngeal cuff 5, in which the pharyngeal cuff 5 is flexible enough to inflate and deflate when a fluid is injected and discharged, and when a fluid is injected in a state where an airway in the respiratory tract of living body is maintained by the tube body 2, the inflated pharyngeal cuff adheres closely to the pharyngeal part T of the living body.

An electrode for use in applying neuromuscular electrical stimulation to the pharyngeal region of a patient includes a connector to which a lead wire may be attached, a conductive film that is in electrical contact with the connector and an adhesive and conductive gel layer that is attached to the conductive film and adapted to be attached to the skin of the pharyngeal region of the patient. The electrode is sized and configured to conduct current at a density no greater than about 0.1244 mA / mM2 to the skin of the pharyngeal region for treatment of an oropharyngeal disorder.

The present invention is the universal unmedicamental system to treat the snore and obstructive sleep apnea and recover of the normal breathing during sleep. The invention includes the device, which ensures the fixation of the tongue in a putting forward beyond the mouth position. As a result, the tongue's pharyngeal part pushes forward in the mouth, releasing besides the throat and excluding the tongue from a system of obstruction to the air's passing through the throat. This increases the throat's capacity, depriving the other throat's structures of the possibility to provoke the partial or complete obstruction to the air's passing through the throat during the physiological process of breathing in the time of the sleep.

The invention relates to a device (1) for treating snoring sounds, interruptions in breathing and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and for diagnosing and treating obstructions and vibrations in the pharyngeal region, with the device (1) being used intra-orally. The device (1) is comprised of at least one oral transverse (2a, 2b) and of means (3) which are placed at the rear end of the oral transverse (2a, 2b) for stabilizing the velum; the means (3) can be individually adapted to the patient's anatomy; during intra-oral use of the device (1), the velum is held at a distance from the pharyngeal wall and the connective tissue in the upper pharynx behind the velum is stabilized in order to prevent obstructions. Different means can advantageously complement the device and serve as holding device for sensors for examining and treatment purposes. The invention also relates to a method for adapting a device (1) according to one of the cited claims to the velum of a patient and to a method for recording measured values.

A combination bite block, tongue depressor / retractor and airway for establishing and maintaining an open airway while preventing emergence clenching and the resulting dental and soft tissue damage associated with emergence clenching in procedures where anesthesia and / or sedation are used, or when the patient is not in control of their own airway, regardless of the cause. The inventive subject matter includes a tongue depressor / retractor component in both right and left conformations; and a bite block component. The bite block component is a wedge shaped, compressible component that is inserted between the upper and lower molars on either the right or left side of the mouth. The tongue depressor component is comprised by a flat portion of that is inserted into the side of the bite block, and an optional curved portion that retracts the tongue off of the posterior pharynx when in place.

An apparatus, system and methods that comprise adding a removable or detachable carrier containing a camera and illumination to a TEE probe, thereby allowing the user to view the placement of the probe and minimize or reduce the risk of esophageal and pharyngeal complications during the positioning of the TEE probe into the patient's esophagus. The reduction or minimization of complications occurs by allowing the cardiologist direct visualization of pharyngeal and esophageal structures during intubation. This device and procedure eliminate any “blind procedure”, whereby direct visualization of the pharyngeal structures and esophagus present a possible solution to these mechanical complications. Once the TEE probe has been properly positioned in the esophagus, the carrier is removed from the esophagus. The removable or detachable camera of the present disclosure can be used in other industries.

The present invention concerns improved laryngoscope blades, particularly for use in the intubation of patients, for example orotracheal and nasotracheal intubation, and which allow viewing of a portion of the mouth, the pharynx, and the larynx of a patient, and depress the tongue and the structures of the floor of the mouth in order to prevent the tongue of the patient from obstructing the view during examination.

A simple, electrical stimulation and non-invasive method for treating dysphagia and artificially promoting swallowing by simultaneous electrical stimulation of the pharyngeal and facial muscles. The device includes a plurality of electrodes selectively placed in electrical contact with tissue of a pharyngeal and oral-facial regions of a patient and a series of electrical pulses in contact with each of the plurality of electrodes with a generator. The generator includes a pulse rate modulator for generating the electrical pulses each having a frequency fixed at 80 hertz, a pulse width modulator for generating each pulse at a duration generally fixed at 300 microseconds, and a governor for regulating the electrical pulses such that at least one of current so as not to exceed 4.4 milliamps RMS or power so as not to exceed 9.6 MW RMS. The electrical pulses selectively stimulate muscles located proximate to the selectively placed electrodes.

The present invention relates to methods for assessing swallowing motor function in a subject. The methods rely on obtaining intraluminal impedance and pressure measurements from the pharynx and / or esophagus of the subject during clearance of a bolus from the mouth and / or throat of the subject. The intraluminal impedance and pressure measurements are combined to derive a value for one or more pressure-flow variables in the pharynx and / or esophagus of the subject. The value of the one or more pressure-flow variables is compared to a predetermined pharyngeal and / or esophageal reference value for the one or more pressure-flow variables in order to provide an assessment of swallowing motor function in the subject. The intraluminal impedance and pressure measurements can also be combined to generate a swallow risk index for the subject or to generate an obstructive risk index for the subject based on a combination of a value of more than one pressure-flow variable in the pharynx and / or esophagus of the subject. In this way, swallowing motor function in the subject can be assessed by comparing the swallow risk index or obstructive risk index for the subject to a predetermined reference swallow index or predetermined reference obstructive index, respectively. Products which make use of these methods are also encompassed by the present invention.

The invention discloses snore stopping liquid and a preparation process thereof. The snore stopping liquid is prepared by the following components in percentage by weight: 1 to 3 percent of tween80, 0.5 to 15 percent of glycerin, 0.5 to 1.5 percent of sodium chloride, 0.3 to 0.8 percent of sodium edentate, 0.1 to 0.3 percent of potassium sorbate and 80 to 90 percent of purified water. The preparation process comprises the following steps of: heating purified water and glycerin and then cooling, adding the tween80, the sodium chloride, the sodium edentate and the potassium sorbate and uniformly mixing to obtain the snore stopping liquid. After the snore stopping liquid drops into a nasal cavity, the snore stopping liquid can soften the mucous membrane of the pharyngeal portion, keep the mucous membrane between the nasal cavity and the throat wet, and reduce the resistance of the upper respiratory tract so as to improve the respiratory obstruction conditions and reduce or eliminate the snore symptom.

The invention relates to a pharynx secretion collection device, which comprises a handle and a collection mechanism, wherein the collection mechanism comprises an occlusion table, a tongue pressing component, a sampling component and an auxiliary observation component, wherein the occlusion table is arranged on one end of the handle; the tongue pressing component comprises a tongue depressor; oneend of the tongue depressor is arranged on one side end of the occlusion table; the sampling component comprises a sampling rod and a clamping unit for clamping the sampling rod, wherein the clampingunit is arranged in the middle of the occlusion table; the auxiliary observation component comprises a camera and a display screen, wherein the camera is arranged on the side surface, which is far away from the handle, on the occlusion table; and the camera collects the images of the sampling rod and the tongue depressor in real time and shows the images in the display screen. During sampling, themouth of a patient is under a closing state, a possibility that viruses in the spray of the patient spread is reduced, and meanwhile, medical care personnel can observe the state of the oral cavity of the patient and the position of the pharynx so as to realize accurate sampling.

An extra-oral medical device is disclosed for treating respiratory conditions and maintaining an open airway. The device comprises a pair of jaw thrusters that affix to a headgear appliance encircling or otherwise attaching around a user's head. The thrusters include a pair of pads that attach to the headgear via two adjustable ear surrounds and place a forward load against the angle of a user's mandible. The forward load forces the mandible and the tongue forward, displacing the tongue from the posterior oropharynx and performing a jaw thrust maneuver for airway management. The device is adapted for medical and personal use, wherein the headgear can be worn while sleeping to treat sleep apnea, excessive snoring and other respiratory disorders, or alternatively may be used by medical professionals to maintain an open airway during a procedure or medical emergency.

A brain cooling apparatus includes a tube body 2 which can maintain an airway in the respiratory tract of a living body; a pharyngeal cuff 5 which is provided in the peripheral part of this tube body 2 and can store a cooled fluid; and an injection and discharge portion 6 which can inject and discharge a fluid into and from this pharyngeal cuff 5, in which the pharyngeal cuff 5 is flexible enough to inflate and deflate when a fluid is injected and discharged, and when a fluid is injected in a state where an airway in the respiratory tract of a living body is maintained by the tube body 2, the inflated pharyngeal cuff adheres closely to the pharyngeal part T of the living body.

The invention discloses an experiment device which can be used for measuring the size and the change of the pressure of different positions in a human body upper respiratory tract model flow field under the two conditions of a steady state and a transient state. The experiment device comprises a real human body upper respiratory tract model, a gas path system and a pressure detecting system. The real human body upper respiratory tract model comprises an oral cavity part, a uvula part, a pharyngeal part, a epiglottis part, a laryngeal part, a glottis part, a pyriform sinus part, a trachea part and a front three-level bronchus part. The gas path system is composed of a first vacuum air path and a second vacuum air path. The pressure detecting system is composed of pressure probes, a data collecting system and a computer. The pressure probes are arranged at different portions of the real human body upper respiratory tract model in an imbedded mode. The data collecting system is respectively connected to the pressure probes and the computer. The experiment device for measuring the real human body upper respiratory tract model flow field pressure can be used for more precisely measuring the motion features of the human body upper respiratory tract model flow field and can display the size and the change conditions of the pressure of different positions in a human upper respiratory tract in real time.

Herein are provided systems, devices, and methods for the treatment of oral and pharyngeal disorders via the stimulation of pharyngeal muscles. Contraction of the pharyngeal muscle cells (9) is induced by activation of at least one ion channel (1) formed in at least one of a muscle cell and a neural cell. The ion channel opens (4) when it is activated by a stimulus (3). This allows ions to flow into (5) and out of (6) the cell, causing muscle contraction. This muscle contraction can be targeted towards specific muscles depending upon the condition to be treated.

Tools, methods and apparatus are provided that may be used to identify ineffective swallowing in the subject, including ineffective swallowing due to an obstruction, and may further be used to determine risk of aspiration in the subject. In one aspect, a method includes accessing intraluminal impedance measurements and pressure measurements obtained from the pharynx and / or esophagus of a subject during clearance of a bolus from the mouth and / or throat of the subject. The method further includes combining and analyzing the intraluminal impedance and pressure measurements to derive a value for one or more pressure-flow variables in the pharynx and / or esophagus on the subject. The swallowing motor function in the subject is assessed by comparing the value of the pressure-flow variables with a predetermined pharyngeal and / or esophageal reference value for the one or more pressure-flow variables.

The invention relates to a robot for collecting pharyngeal flor, the robot comprises a head fixing and positioning mechanism, a variable stiffness mechanism, a mechanical arm and a sampling table. When pharyngeal flora is collected, a lead screw mechanism in a head fixing and positioning mechanism in the robot can be adjusted according to the size of the head of a to-be-detected person, the effect of fixing the head of the to-be-detected person is achieved, after head positioning is completed, a detector follows a designed technical route, through control by a controller, the tail end of the pharyngeal flora collection robot can realize a motion path similar to that of manual collection to complete collection of pharyngeal flora; a variable stiffness mechanism is adopted, hard contact between the tail end of the pharyngeal flora collection robot and the pharynx of a to-be-detected person is avoided, meanwhile, a head fixing and positioning mechanism is composed of a parallel mechanism and a lead screw, good supporting performance and adaptability are provided, and the robot is suitable for wide crowds; when the tester operates the robot, the designed technical route is followed, the accuracy of collected samples is high through accurate control, and an accurate result can be obtained through detection.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an oropharynx appliance that includes passive tongue retention structure (12) having an end portion (16) adapted to prevent a pharyngeal portion of a tongue of a subject from collapsing; and at least one anchoring structure (14, 148) that is connected to the passive tongue retention structure and adapted to secure the passive tongue retention structure to at least one tooth / mandible of the subject in a removable fashion. The passive tongue retention structure is sized and dimensioned so that the end portion prevents the posterior pharyngeal portion of the tongue from obstructing an oropharynx during sleep, without triggering a gag reflex, while still permitting the tongue to move during swallowing.

The invention discloses a dripping pill for treating pharyngeal and laryngeal diseases and a preparation method thereof. Raw materials of ridonin and sarcandra are combined in proper proportion, extracted, and then added with accessories to prepare the dripping pill. The dripping pill is used through medicinal compatibility of the two raw materials, adopts the modern technology of quick release, and has obvious curative effect on symptoms of uncomfortable pharynx such as acpuei and chronic pharyngitis, abscess of throat, dry throat and the like.

The invention provides a control method and control equipment for an indoor unit of an air conditioner. The control method comprises the steps of extracting a target voice signal sent by a target user from voices collected by the indoor unit of the air conditioner; extracting feature information of the target voice signal, and identifying a pharyngeal state of the target user according to the feature information; under the condition of determining that the pharyngeal state indicates that the target user feels uncomfortable, acquiring an auxiliary healing strategy pre-configured by the indoor unit of the air conditioner; and controlling the indoor unit of the air conditioner to operate according to the corresponding auxiliary healing strategy. Based on the technical scheme provided by the invention, the pharyngeal state of the target user can be identified based on the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and under the condition of determining that the pharyngeal state indicates that the target user feels uncomfortable, the indoor unit of the air conditioner is controlled to operate according to the corresponding auxiliary healing strategy so as to relieve the uncomfortable condition of the target user as much as possible, so that the user experience and the intelligent level of the intelligent air conditioner are improved.

The invention relates to the field of pharynx swabs, in particular to an unattended automatic sampling device for a pharynx test. A sampling conveying mechanism drives the conveyor belt body to transport along the length direction of the conveyor belt body, and the conveyor belt body is pre-loaded with a plurality of pharynx test sample bodies in an isolated manner along the length direction; a sampling mechanism comprises a sampling table with sampling openings, and the sampling conveying mechanism drives the conveying belt body to enable the throat test sample bodies to sequentially pass through the sampling openings. Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that the sampling task of pharyngeal tissues can be automatically, softly, quickly and accurately completed on a sampled sample in a pollution-free, full-isolation, identifiable, standardized and modularized manner in a man-machine cooperation manner, the sampling accuracy is improved, and the comfort level of a sampled person is improved.