Method and apparatus for treating sleep apnea

Abstract

An oral appliance is disclosed that provides electrical stimulation to a patient's tongue in a manner that prevents collapse of the tongue and/or soft palate during sleep. More specifically, the appliance may induce a reversible current or currents in a lateral direction across the tongue in a manner that shortens the patient's Palatoglossus muscle, which in turn pulls the patient's soft palate downward towards a base of the tongue and/or decreases a volume of the tongue.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating apnea in a patient, the method comprising:
 generating one or more signals indicative of the patient's respiratory behavior; and   electrically stimulating at least a portion of the patient's upper airway based on the one or more signals, the electrical stimulation configured to target the patient's Palatoglossus muscle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to avoid the patient's Hypoglossal nerve. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to pull the patient's Palatoglossal arch in a downward direction towards a base of the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to decrease a volume of the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to shorten the patient's Palatoglossus muscle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to elevate a posterior region of the patient's tongue without moving the patient's tongue in an anterior direction. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 dynamically adjusting the electrical stimulation based, at least in part, on the one or more signals.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 indicating a presence of disturbed breathing based on the one or more signals.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrically stimulating comprises:
 inducing a current configured to flow in a lateral direction across at least a portion of the patient's tongue.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the induced current comprises a reversible current. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the reversible current comprises a zero-sum waveform. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 periodically reversing a polarity of the induced current.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a pulse length of the induced current is configured according to a resistive-capacitive (RC) time constant model associated with the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulation is provided by a number of electrodes configured to be in physical contact with lateral points at which the Palatoglossus muscle inserts into the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 correlating the electrical stimulation with an immediate respiratory response of the patient.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more signals comprise electromyogram (EMG) signals. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to treat apnea in a patient by performing operations comprising:
 generating one or more signals indicative of the patient's respiratory behavior; and   electrically stimulating at least a portion of the patient's upper airway based on the one or more signals, the electrical stimulation configured to target the patient's Palatoglossus muscle.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to avoid the patient's Hypoglossal nerve. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to pull the patient's Palatoglossal arch in a downward direction towards a base of the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to decrease a volume of the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to shorten the patient's Palatoglossus muscle. 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical stimulation is configured to elevate a posterior region of the patient's tongue without moving the patient's tongue in an anterior direction. 
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein execution of the instructions causes the device to perform operations further comprising:
 dynamically adjusting the electrical stimulation based, at least in part, on the one or more signals.   
     
     
         24 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein execution of the instructions causes the device to perform operations further comprising:
 indicating a presence of disturbed breathing based on the one or more signals.   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein execution of the instructions for electrically stimulating causes the device to perform operations further comprising:
 inducing a current configured to flow in a lateral direction across at least a portion of the patient's tongue.   
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 25 , wherein the induced current comprises a reversible current. 
     
     
         27 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 26 , wherein the reversible current comprises a zero-sum waveform. 
     
     
         28 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 25 , wherein execution of the instructions causes the device to perform operations further comprising:
 periodically reversing a polarity of the induced current.   
     
     
         29 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 25 , wherein a pulse length of the induced current is configured according to a resistive-capacitive (RC) time constant model associated with the patient's tongue. 
     
     
         30 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein execution of the instructions causes the device to perform operations further comprising:
 correlating the electrical stimulation with an immediate respiratory response of the patient.   
     
     
         31 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more signals comprise electromyogram (EMG) signals.