Patent ID: 9161855
Filing Date: 2015-10-20
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A device for treating obstructive sleep apnea in a human patient having a mandible and a tongue comprising: an anchor element having a plate-shape element adapted to be implanted in said patient and sized and shaped to straddle a lower edge of an anterior and inferior margin of the mandible of said patient, and at least one side wall extending upwardly from the flat plate and sized and shaped to engage an outer edge of at least a mental foramen of the mandible of said patient when the flat plate straddles the lower edge of the mandible; and a looped, flexible filamentary element coupled to the anchor element and extending outwardly therefrom and adapted to be implanted within the tongue, the looped filamentary element having a length sufficient to extend outwardly from the anchor element to the submucosal tissue substantially at the position of the circumvallate papillae, laterally across the tongue a predetermined distance, and back through the tongue to the anchor element; wherein when the anchor element is engageable with the mandible and the tissue supporting element implantable in the tongue, rearward movement of the tongue is resisted without mechanical fixation of the anchor element to the mandible.