Detroit Medical Center has been selected to participate in a pivotal clinical study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Inspire upper airway stimulation therapy as a treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea.
Inspire therapy is designed to deliver mild, physiologically timed stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve during each breathing cycle, to restore tone to the muscles that control the base of the tongue. This prevents the tongue from collapsing and obstructing the airway.
The trial will enrol continuous positive air pressure-intolerant patients to evaluate the efficacy of an implantable therapy that works with the body's natural physiology to prevent airway obstruction during sleep.
Safwan Badr, professor and chief of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine in the department of internal medicine at DMC Harper University Hospital and Wayne State University School of Medicine, said that continuous positive air pressure can be effective in treating obstructive sleep apnoea, but many patients it is simply too difficult to comply with.
''We look forward to contributing to this important research to determine whether Inspire therapy can help the many people suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea with limited treatment options," Badr added.
