Devices, systems, and methods to fixate tissue within the regions of body, such as the pharyngeal conduit

Abstract

Devices, systems and methods develop static and/or kinetic and/or pressure forces to fixate or brace tissue in targeted pharyngeal structures and individual anatomic components within the pharyngeal conduit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An arrangement adapted to resist collapse of a portion of a pharyngeal wall, the arrangement comprising:
 a plurality of individual implants, each of the implants being sized and configured for implantation in the portion of the pharyngeal wall and once implanted, are sized and configured to be movable among:
 a first arrangement in which the plurality of individual implants are spaced a predetermined distance apart along an arc defined by a radius, and 
 a second arrangement in which one or both of the distance or radius has decreased. 
   
     
     
         2 . The arrangement of  claim 1  wherein when disposed in the second arrangement, one or more of the individual implants are disposed in direct contact with another one or more of the individual implants. 
     
     
         3 . The arrangement of  claim 1  wherein each of the individual implants are linked together by a material. 
     
     
         4 . The arrangement of  claim 3  wherein the material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of: a plastic, a metal, a fabric, a textile, and a ceramic. 
     
     
         5 . The arrangement of  claim 3  wherein the material is of a negligible stiffness. 
     
     
         6 . The arrangement of  claim 3  wherein the material is of a stiffness sufficient to impart a flexural resistance upon adjacent implants linked thereby. 
     
     
         7 . An implant sized and configured for implantation in a portion of a pharyngeal wall and adapted to resist collapse of the portion of the pharyngeal wall, the implant comprising:
 a body comprising a plurality of segments, each segment being coupled to an adjacent segment via a hinge point,   wherein the body is flexible from among:
 a first arrangement in which each of the hinge points are disposed on an open position, and 
 a second arrangement in which one or more of the hinge points are disposed in a closed position such that the one or more hinge points disposed in the closed position resist further flex of the body such hinge points. 
   
     
     
         8 . The implant of  claim 7  wherein the body comprises one or more of a plastic, metal, fabric, or ceramic material. 
     
     
         9 . The implant of  claim 7  wherein each hinge point is adapted to delimit a spacing and a closure angle of the segments connected thereby. 
     
     
         10 . The implant of  claim 9  wherein the spacing delimited by one hinge point differs from the spacing delimited by another hinge point. 
     
     
         11 . The implant of  claim 7  wherein closure angle delimited by one hinge point differs from the closure angle delimited by another hinge point. 
     
     
         12 . The implant of  claim 7  wherein each of the segments is formed from a generally inelastic material. 
     
     
         13 . The implant of  claim 7  wherein each of the segments is formed as a spring-like structure. 
     
     
         14 . A method of bracing a portion of a pharyngeal wall, the method comprising:
 surgically implanting a plurality of individual implants at predetermined spacings along an arc-shaped arrangement in the pharyngeal wall.   
     
     
         15 . A method of bracing a portion of a pharyngeal wall, the method comprising implanting the implant of  claim 7  in a portion of a pharyngeal wall.