Patent ID: 8584671

Claim:
A nasal dilator as a truss, consisting of: a non-resilient base layer; and a resilient member, wherein: a) first and second end regions of the truss are adapted to engage outer wall tissues of first and second nasal passages, respectively; b) an intermediate region of the truss interconnecting the first and second end regions is configured to traverse a bridge of a nose located between the first and second nasal passages, c) the resilient member extends along the truss and is secured to at least the first and second end regions, the resilient member including multiple resilient spring fingers diverging from a common center, at least two of said spring fingers terminating at portions of outer lateral end edges of the truss at each end region, the spring fingers having terminal ends that conform to said portions, the resilient member fabricated from a preferred material having a single constant thickness and being substantially rigid in a direction parallel to a surface plane thereof; d) the non-resilient base layer is laminated to one side of the resilient member, said base layer defining a width of the truss extending outboard of upper and lower long edges of the resilient member, the base layer including an adhesive substance disposed along the intermediate region and at least a portion of the first and second end regions for removably engaging the dilator to the outer wall tissues, and e) the non-resilient base layer is interposed between the resilient member and the outer wall tissues engaged by the truss such that an entire flat surface of the resilient member and at least a portion of the base layer are exposed and visible when the dilator is so engaged.