Patent ID: 8639343

Claim:
An electronic stimulation system arranged to be worn in, behind or on a human ear comprising a casing; a first detection device arranged to sense at least breathing activity from a human being and to generate a detection signal accordingly; electronics arranged within said casing and comprising a controller connected to said detection device and arranged to process said detection signal and to generate a control signal when said controller has determined that said human being is in a state of developing apnoea; a stimulation device arranged to receive said control signal from said electronics and to provide stimuli to one or more points of said human ear; and wherein said electronic stimulation system is arranged such that either said casing comprises said stimulation device and is arranged to be worn in said human ear such that when worn in the human ear, the stimulation device is pushed against an auricle of said human ear, or said casing is connected to said stimulation device by a clamping unit and is arranged to be worn behind the human ear such that when worn behind the human ear, the stimulation device is pushed against an auricle of said human ear, the stimulation device being arranged to generate a stimulation signal of a desired form with an average repetition frequency of 1 to 100 Hz during a plurality of stimulation times T stim , a first stimulation time only starting after a first waiting time after said electronics have established that said human has a high risk of developing apnoea, consecutive stimulation times being separated by a second waiting time T wait , a consecutive stimulation time starting after said second waiting time if the electronics have established that breathing has not started as a result of stimulation signals in a preceding stimulation time, wherein the first and further waiting time may be different, such as to provide an electrical stimulus to the auricle and provoke an induced aspiration reflex by a resuscitating stimulation of the respiratory area of the human brain stem, the first and second waiting time being between 0 and 10 seconds, and the stimulation time being between 0 and 10 seconds.