2. Neuromodulation to treat disruptive sleep apnea
More than 40% of sleep apnea sufferers refuse to wear CPAP machines that help regulate sleep because it can be noisy, cause mask irritation and claustrophobia. Neuromodulation is designed to fix that.Clinicians have predicted that neuromodulation for treating sleep apnea will take the market by storm in 2018. It involves an implant that is designed to give stimulation to certain airways that help with breathing throughout the night. The implant is inserted during minimally-invasive surgery. The system also features a stimulation lead that is attached to a small battery.
A remote and wearable patch measures breathing and senses breathing patterns to deliver mild stimulation to the tongue and throat to keep the airway open.
Tina Waters from the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center said that this won’t fully eliminate CPAP machines just yet and the system has not caused any serious complications in clinical testing.
S Srikrishna says
Very promising disruptions in Healthcare. Will be interested as an incubator to closely track the development of ideas of healthcare startups.