Treating sleep apnea with negative pressure
First Claim
1. A system for treating sleep apnea, the system comprising:
- a collar having a vacuum surface, multiple outlet openings disposed in the vacuum surface, at least one inlet opening disposed in the vacuum surface between two of the multiple outlet openings, and a sealing surface that is configured to form a seal with a region of a neck of a subject having an airway;
a first pump secured to the collar and configured to maintain the airway open by drawing, through the multiple outlet openings and the at least one inlet opening, a vacuum between the vacuum surface of the collar and a region of a throat of the subject; and
a motor secured to the collar and configured to drive the pump.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An embodiment of a system for treating sleep apnea includes a collar, a pump, and a motor. The collar has a vacuum surface and has a sealing surface that is configured to form a seal with a region of a neck of a subject having an airway. The pump is secured to the collar, and is configured to maintain the airway open by drawing a vacuum between the vacuum surface of the collar and a region of a throat of the subject. And the motor is secured to the collar and is configured to drive the pump. As compared to existing systems (e.g., a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) system) for treating sleep apnea, the above-described system may be more portable, more comfortable, may be less likely to require adjustment while a subject using the system is asleep, and, therefore, may be less likely to awaken the subject.
41 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A system for treating sleep apnea, the system comprising:
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a collar having a vacuum surface, multiple outlet openings disposed in the vacuum surface, at least one inlet opening disposed in the vacuum surface between two of the multiple outlet openings, and a sealing surface that is configured to form a seal with a region of a neck of a subject having an airway; a first pump secured to the collar and configured to maintain the airway open by drawing, through the multiple outlet openings and the at least one inlet opening, a vacuum between the vacuum surface of the collar and a region of a throat of the subject; and a motor secured to the collar and configured to drive the pump. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for treating sleep apnea, the method comprising:
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driving a pump with a motor, the motor and pump being secured to a collar that is disposed over at least a portion of a throat of a subject and that includes a frame; maintaining an airway of the subject open by creating, with the pump, a negative pressure between the throat portion and the collar via multiple outlet openings that are disposed in a vacuum surface of the collar between the throat portion and the pump, the vacuum surface including a material other than an open-cell foam and being secured to the frame; and separating the multiple outlet openings from the throat portion with the frame. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for treating sleep apnea, the method comprising:
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driving a pump with a motor, the motor and pump being secured to a collar that is disposed over at least a portion of a throat of a subject; maintaining an airway of the subject open by creating, with the pump, a negative pressure between the throat portion and the collar; driving a mechanism in response to a movement of the collar; and at least partially driving the motor with the mechanism.
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18. A method for treating sleep apnea, the method comprising:
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driving a pump with a motor, the motor and pump being secured to a collar that is disposed over at least a portion of a throat of a subject; maintaining an airway of the subject open by creating, with the pump, a negative pressure between the throat portion and a vacuum surface of the collar; forming a seal between at least a sealing surface of the collar and at least a portion of a neck of the subject around the throat portion, the sealing surface disposed around the vacuum surface, the seal and the vacuum surface defining a vacuum region; wherein creating the negative pressure comprises creating the negative pressure within the vacuum region; and wherein forming the seal includes drawing a portion of the sealing surface against the portion of the neck with the pump via one or more fluid-outlet openings in the portion of the sealing surface, a path between the pump and the one or more fluid-outlet openings excluding the vacuum region.
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19. A system for treating sleep apnea, the system comprising:
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means for driving a pump with a motor, the motor and pump being secured to a collar that is configured to be disposed over at least a portion of a throat of a subject and that includes a frame; and means for maintaining an airway of the subject open by creating, with the pump, a negative pressure between the throat portion and the collar via multiple outlet openings that are disposed in a layer of a vacuum surface of the collar and that are configured to be disposed between the throat portion and the pump, the collar including no other layer in which an outlet opening is disposed, the vacuum surface being attached to the frame, which is configured to hold the multiple outlet openings away from the throat portion. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system, comprising:
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a collar having a vacuum surface that is configured to be located over a region of a throat of a subject and having a sealing surface disposed around the vacuum surface; and an apparatus configured to cause delivery of a sealing material via multiple openings in the sealing surface to form a seal between the sealing surface and a region of a neck of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method, comprising:
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forming a seal around a vacuum surface of a collar between a sealing surface of the collar and a region of a neck of a subject by pushing a sealing material through a plurality of openings disposed in the sealing surface, the vacuum surface located over a region of a throat of the subject; and opening an airway of the subject by drawing a vacuum between the vacuum surface of the collar and the region of the throat. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A system, comprising:
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a collar having a vacuum surface that is configured for location over a region of a throat of a subject and having a sealing surface configured to form a first seal with a region of a neck of the subject and including a plurality of sealant-dispensing openings; and an apparatus configured to maintain the seal between the sealing surface and the neck region of the subject by delivering a sealing material via the plurality of sealant-dispensing openings. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification