公开(公告)号：EP1596805A2

公开(公告)日：2005-11-23

申请号：EP04702555.6

申请日：2004-01-15

申请人： Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California

发明人： GORDON, David, C. ,  LOEB, Gerald, E.

IPC分类号： A61K6/00

CPC分类号： A61N1/3601

摘要： Many individuals generate excessively loud snoring during their sleep, often to the point where others cannot tolerate sleeping in the same room with them. Most cases of snoring are caused by excessive bulk and flaccidity of soft tissues of the palate and uvula that vibrate as air flows past them. These palate and uvula contain muscles whose contractions can stiffen and displace the soft tissues so that they do not vibrate. The invention provides electrical stimulation that causes the oropharyngeal muscles to contract during sleep using one or more microstimulators injected into or near these muscles or the nerves which innervate them. The invention also provides methods of determining the anatomical structures implicated in snoring and testing such locations for effective placement and stimulation of muscle contraction to decrease the frequency or magnitude of snoring.