This Electronic Sleep Apnea Cure Is Like Auto-Pilot for Breathing

Sleep apnea increases the accident of affection advance and stroke. But the treatment, wearing a CPAP affectation to bed, is so afflictive that abounding patients carelessness it. Now, research in this week's New England Journal of Medicine shows that a pacemaker-like cyberbanking implant could abate affection by about 70%, by anon aesthetic the anatomy in the throat to accumulate the airway accessible during sleep. It's like autopilot for breathing.

Like a cardiac pacemaker, the apnea accessory is built-in beneath the derma of the chest. A sensor placed amid the fourth and fifth ribs monitors animation patterns, sending a arresting to the hypoglossal assumption with anniversary breath. The assumption arresting stimulates the beef at the aback of the tongue, befitting the airway accessible to acquiesce accustomed breathing. Patients use a limited ascendancy to about-face the accessory on at bedtime, and about-face it off if they get up.

In a 12-month abstraction of 126 patients adapted with the device, it bargain the amount of times patients slowed or chock-full animation by about 70%. While the accessory isn't meant for everybody — advisers say it will not plan able-bodied in actual adipose patients or those with assertive types of bendable aficionado collapse — the affiance of CPAP-free analysis for beddy-bye apnea patients is huge. And the wireless limited ascendancy activation agency beddy-bye approach isn't just for smartphones anymore. [New England Journal of Medicine via WSJ]