Tissue Retractor Device for Sleep Apnea Airway Patency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are inadequate, as they often compromise speech and swallowing functions, are uncomfortable for patients, and have low compliance due to invasiveness and discomfort, with existing devices failing to effectively address the tongue's role in airway obstruction during sleep.
Innovation Solution
A tissue retractor device, such as the Linguaflex tongue retractor (LTR), which includes a retractor member, shaft, and anchor member, is designed to prevent tongue deformation by exerting localized counterforce, adjustable for comfort and efficacy, and applicable to various upper airway sites, including the tongue base, soft palate, and pharyngeal walls, to maintain airway patency without noticeable impact on speech or swallowing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical procedures or invasive devices are used to treat sleep apnea, then airway patency is improved, but patient comfort and compliance deteriorate due to invasiveness and discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible oral appliance with thin film structures that can be custom-fitted to the patient's oral cavity. This flexible design maintains airway patency through gentle mechanical action while ensuring patient comfort and ease of use during sleep, resolving the contradiction between effective treatment and patient comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces invasive surgical mechanical systems with a non-invasive oral appliance that uses gentle mechanical forces. This substitution eliminates the discomfort and risks associated with surgery while maintaining the therapeutic effect of keeping the airway open during sleep.
2Reliability
If existing devices are used to address airway obstruction, then airway patency is improved, but speech and swallowing functions are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The oral appliance is designed with local quality variations - different regions of the device have different properties optimized for specific functions. The design applies minimal force to areas involved in speech and swallowing while providing sufficient support to maintain airway patency, thus resolving the contradiction between airway openness and preservation of normal oral functions.
3Reliability
If invasive treatments are applied to maintain airway patency, then treatment efficacy is improved, but device complexity and adjustment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The oral appliance incorporates self-adjusting features that allow it to adapt to the patient's unique oral anatomy and sleeping position automatically. This self-service capability simplifies the device design while maintaining high treatment efficacy, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms and professional intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices to prevent and/or treat breathing disorders (e.g., upper airways disorders) in mammals related to impaired airflow are described. Methods and devices apply force to soft tissue that avoids obstruction of airflow in the mammel's airway. Breathing disorders that are avoided by the methods and/or devices include apnea.