Inspire: Sleep Apnea Innovation

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects 22 million Americans. OSA occurs when soft tissues in the airway collapse during sleep and blocks the flow of oxygen to the brain. The brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes the body up just long enough to take a breath, then the body falls back asleep. This cycle repeats throughout the night and causes poor, disruptive sleep.

The new Inspire sleep apnea therapy, offered at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, works inside the body with a patient’s natural breathing process to treat sleep apnea. The device delivers mild stimulation to key airway muscles, allowing the airway to open during sleep. The patient uses a small handheld remote to turn Inspire on before bed and off when they wake up. No mask, no hose, just sleep.

Inspire is made up of 3 components, a generator and 2 silicone leads. The device is placed just under the skin with 2 small incisions in a same day outpatient procedure which takes about 2 hours. Most patients return home the same day and return to non-strenuous activities within a few days.

Inspire is controlled by the patient using the small, handheld Inspire Sleep Remote. The Inspire Sleep Remote is used to turn the device on before bed and off in the morning. Additionally, the patient can pause therapy during the night if needed and increase/decrease therapy settings.

Inspire: Sleep Apnea is for people who:

• Have been diagnosed with moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea, specifically an Apnea-Hypopnea Index (i.e. the number of times they stop breathing each hour) between 15 and 65
• Are unable to use or get consistent benefit from CPAP
• Are not significantly overweight
• Are over age 18

For more information on Inspire: Sleep Apnea Innovation, please call 661.443.5418 or find a physician here.

For Inspire FAQs, click here.