February 27, 2009: Implantable Device Replaces CPAP

This may be further along than I thought:

The device has been approved by the FDA and should become available sometime next month (March 2009).

According to http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/ ... sleep.html

rooster wrote:This may be further along than I thought:

The device has been approved by the FDA and should become available sometime next month (March 2009).

According to http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/ ... sleep.html

HELL YEAH ! I am ready for it... I would spend my last dollar if it will work! Sign me up with Rooster !

Better yet - If I get laid-off from my job maybe I can get the taxpayers to pay for this...

I have to admit that this is an intriquing and promising prospect. I don't have a pacemaker, but I suspect that the procedure is similar. Those who have had the surgery (pacemaker) say it is not bad. They are sedated, usually spend one night in the hospital, and don't usually have any pain, although there might be in some cases, some sensitivity and maybe a small bump on the chest, but not too conspicuous.
I would surmise that this surgery would even be more easily done, and perhaps in another few years, may turn out to be the solution of choice among OSA sufferers. The question to ask is, although perhaps way too premature, what will be covered by our Medicare and so forth.
Will the average doctor know how to do the procedure, or will only a few specialists do it? Well, all this is now pretty much in a state of flux, and we'll have to wait and see. But those of us older have to ask those questions.
But my hat's off to Inspire for this seemingly important stride, and it may very well be the breakthrough we've been waiting for.
Jay

U might be surprised at what these gadgets will do!! I seen on the educational channel recently where a man accidently broke his neck and was paralyzed from neck down and could not breathe on his own he was on a ventilator -they installed a stimulater in his neck and he was breathing on his own again. I might not have beleived it but I will be finding out more on this as my sister and I are taking my mother to Mississippi in March (March23,2009) and I have done some research on these stimulators - to have two stimulators installed one for the stomach and one for the lower bowel as she has chronic Gastroparesis abd has had for the last three years. This is going to be a last straw type of thing for her-As we will be there from 7 to 10 days maybe longer. I can keep you all updated if you are interested.

mdpooch wrote:U might be surprised at what these gadgets will do!! I seen on the educational channel recently where a man accidently broke his neck and was paralyzed from neck down and could not breathe on his own he was on a ventilator -they installed a stimulater in his neck and he was breathing on his own again. I might not have beleived it but I will be finding out more on this as my sister and I are taking my mother to Mississippi in March (March23,2009) and I have done some research on these stimulators - to have two stimulators installed one for the stomach and one for the lower bowel as she has chronic Gastroparesis abd has had for the last three years. This is going to be a last straw type of thing for her-As we will be there from 7 to 10 days maybe longer. I can keep you all updated if you are interested.

Definitely interested. Why don't you bookmark this thread and put an update here.

You are right in that there are plenty of implantable medical devices already in patients making life much better for them. Airway muscles may be as easy, or easier, than controlling heart muscles.

In the forty-five years since the first cardiac pacemaker was successfully implanted in the U.S., researchers and doctors have created a wide array of implantable electronic devices, including pacemakers, defibrillators, cochlear implants, hearing devices, drug delivery and neurostimulators.

Examples of Implantable Electronic Devices
For example, medical device companies are testing neurostimulators that pulse various nerves to treat particular medical conditions: the hypoglossal nerve [in the neck] to treat sleep apnea; the sacral nerve to treat bowel disorders; the stomach to treat obesity, the thalamus to treat epilepsy, the vagus-nerve to treat chronic depression, and other regions of the deep brain to treat migraines and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=3625

And those are running all night without waking the patient.

It isn't possible for me, that landscape is already filled up with a Defibulator with defective lead wires. Jim

Yep Rooster, this is what I'm talking about. I knew other companies were in the process of trialling similar devices. It will be very interesting how this device and others go. We shall see how it all pans out *crosses fingers*

That's quite a find, rooster!! Thanks!!

I'll miss my mask....

But methinks I'll get the appetite-limiting 'pacemaker' first; if being lean doesn't ccontrol my OSA, then they can just reprogram it, right?

**
I'm guessing the next things after this will be a black market in "physician's" controllers, and a bunch of rebel former CPAPtalkers exchanging programming ideas on-line....

This company Medtronic have been making a variety of gadgets that really make a fantastic difference to people lives. I had a syncromed pump that was a drug infusion pump that used to deliver pain medication directly to the fluid around the brain and spinal cord- i went from having pain so severe i was very close to suicide and most certainly not able to work, to being virtually pain free and able to wrk enough to support myself again. I almost forgot that i had the pump in! unfortunately like a pacemaker, when the batteries fail the unit needs to be replaced and that happened to me last october, i had sugery to replace it and got a lvely golden staph (mrsa) infection and i was at risk of bacterial menigitis so they had to remove the whole lot- now i am back with barely effective painrelief and i am waiting to see when i can have the device replaced- they produce spinal cord stimulators for pain relief and nerve stimulators to help people with neurogenic bladders (incontinence from nerve problems such as MS)- these hig tech devices work very well and although they are expensive it more than pays for itself when you consider how much better the person can manage day to day life

it will be interesting to watch how well this works

rooster wrote:

freepostg wrote:please have her forward a portion of the estate my way if you don't mind...I've been ruined by the market!

Sure. Have fun with it:



I have been investing in the same market you invested in.

Rooster: Those look like Wheat Pennies-they actually are worth something!!! Also-what are the insurance Co's. saying about this? Will I need a "bailout"? Thanks.Larry

Sleepy Boy wrote:........ what are the insurance Co's. saying about this? .....Larry

From their archives: "The efficacy of this therapy is unproven."

This is VERY interesting! I am going to bookmark this thread and hope for updates... thanks Rooster

I for one am excited about the possibilities. I'd hope eventually they could do away with the on/off button and make the device smart enough that you can keep it activated during waking hours with no ill effects.

I'm pretty darned hooked on CPAP and am blessed with that "bulldog/never say die" personality that enabled me to put up with the equipment and not need some sort of miracle rested feeling in order to continue with my therapy. But I realize that the majority (they say 50% but IMO the compliance rate is a lot lower...) of people find it all too easy to slip into denial.

Perhaps this will become a viable alternative to gasping for breath all night when one can't be bothered with a machine and mask...

SharkBait wrote: . I'd hope eventually they could do away with the on/off button and make the device smart enough that you can keep it activated during waking hours with no ill effects.

........

On the other hand, could it be that after your mind/body adjusts to it, you will need it during the day to breathe?