About the Inspire II System

The Inspire II system consists of an implantable pulse generator, a pulmonary pressure sensor and a stimulation lead that delivers the electrical impulses to the patient's hypoglossal nerve. The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve that is located along the side of the neck and leads to the tongue. The unique closed-loop design of the Inspire II system senses a patient's respiratory effort during sleep and provides hypoglossal nerve stimulation to maintain an open airway synchronous with respiration. Patients have a programming device that is used to turn the device on at bedtime and to turn the unit off during non-sleep periods. The stimulation delivered is sufficient enough to evoke a response from the nerve but at a low enough level to not disturb the patient's sleep. A physician controller unit, used during visits to the patient's treating physician, is used to monitor the therapy and make adjustments to the device as needed for the patient's unique physiology

About Obstructive Sleep Apnea

It is estimated that one in fifteen adults has moderate to severe OSA¹. People with OSA experience recurrent blockage of their upper airway during sleep, resulting in frequent arousals from sleep and reduced oxygen levels in the blood. This happens because the muscles that normally hold the airway open during wakefulness relax during sleep and allow it to narrow. When the airway is partially closed and/or the muscles relax too much, trying to inhale will completely close the airway, resulting in an obstructive sleep apnea event. Depending on the degree of severity, OSA is a potentially life-threatening condition. According to a recent report² from the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research and the National Institute of Health, someone who has undiagnosed or is non-compliant to treatment of their sleep apnea is more likely to have a heart attack, a stroke, cardiac arrest during sleep, or a harmful accident.