A little nerve stimulation can coax the tongue from blocking the airway and alleviate obstructive sleep apnea for a segment of sufferers who aren’t getting relief from continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
This is the mechanism behind a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved technology that’s been known on the market as Inspire since 2014. It’s an implanted pulse generator surgically placed in the chest below the collarbone and comes with an external remote that allows users to activate it before going to sleep and turn it off when they wake.
