Patent ID: 9445936
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: A61F

Claim Text:
1. A method of treating snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea in a subject in need of such treatment, comprising: providing to the subject a buccal bioadhesive strip adapted to bind a mucosal membrane by applying said strip to the tissue of the soft palate to stiffen the tissue to reduce vibration, said strip comprising at least one coating layer having a surface topography for resisting bioadhesion, said at least one layer comprising a polymer, said coating layer having a pattern defined by a plurality of spaced apart features attached to or projected into a base surface, said plurality of features each having at least one microscale dimension and having at least one neighboring feature having a substantially different geometry, wherein an average spacing between adjacent ones of said features is between 0.5 and 5 μm in at least a portion of said coating layer, said coating layer resisting bioadhesion as compared to said base surface.