A little nerve stimulation can coax the tongue from blocking the airway and alleviate obstructive sleep apnea for a segment of sufferers who aren’t getting relief from continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
This is the mechanism behind a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved technology that’s been known on the market as Inspire since 2014. It’s an implanted pulse generator surgically placed in the chest below the collarbone and comes with an external remote that allows users to activate it before going to sleep and turn it off when they wake.
Some have described it as the pacemaker for sleep apnea, which affects 26 percent of adults between the ages of 30 and 70, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. A respiratory sensing lead stimulates the hypoglossal nerve, which controls tongue movement. This allows the tongue to move into the correct posture for sleep. Inspire boasts a 91 percent satisfaction rate with its device and a 79 percent reduction in sleep apnea events….