Patent ID: 8677531

Claim:
An apparatus for supporting the head and neck of a user in a lateral decubitus position to align and maintain a user's head and neck in the lateral sniff position, comprising: a front surface; a rear surface opposite the front surface; a left side surface; a right side surface opposite the left side surface; a bottom surface; a top surface opposite the bottom surface and having a left side that slopes downwardly from the left side surface toward a center of the top surface and a right side that slopes downwardly from the right side surface toward the center of the top surface; a first recess formed in the top surface between the left sloping side and the right sloping side, the first recess having a chin supporting area for supporting a lateral side of a user's chin, a face supporting area for supporting a lateral side of a user's face, and a back portion supporting area for supporting a lateral side of a back portion of a user's head; a second recess formed in the front surface for receiving a user's shoulder; a third recess formed in the top surface and having a channel with a surface that extends between the second recess and the first recess for supporting a lateral side of a user's neck, wherein the channel is positioned at an angle with respect to the front surface such that when a lateral side of a user's neck is positioned on the surface of the channel, the lower cervical spine of a user is maintained in a position of substantially maximal forward flexion; and wherein the chin supporting area of the first recess is positioned at an angle with respect to the channel such that when a lateral side of a user's head is positioned in the first recess, the upper cervical spine of a user is maintained in a position of substantially maximal extension to align and maintain a user's head and neck in the lateral sniff position.