JP5268181B2 - Sleep apnea syndrome prevention device and measure pillow - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure kit, etc. hardly removable unconsciously while a large therapeutic effect can be expected. <P>SOLUTION: A pad 3 abutting on the right and left rear edge 7 of a mandible bone 5 is stuck to the skin with a tape 15. A pressing protrusion 9 formed at the rear end of the pad 3 abuts on a pillow 13 to cause pressure to the mandible bone 5 toward the front of the face. Drooping of a tongue and the soft palate into the respiratory tract, which is the cause of a sleep apnea syndrome, occurs from the front to the rear of the face in a state of lying face up. There is therefore no deviation in a pressing direction that prevents drooping. The large therapeutic effect can thereby be expected. The kit can be put on from the rear of the face without being put on from the front of the face and is hardly removed unconsciously by a patient during sleep. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a countermeasure device for improving sleep apnea syndrome.

Sleep apnea syndrome refers to a group of symptoms that are temporarily apnea during sleep, or in short, severe snoring. The direct cause is said to be that the base of the tongue or soft palate falls into the airway due to muscle relaxation during sleep and obstructs the airway.
As a treatment method, there is a method of sending air pressurized by a machine during sleep to an airway. In other words, it is called continuous positive pressure breathing therapy, which sends pressurized air from the machine through the tube to the nose and spreads the soft tissue around the tongue base with the force of the air to prevent airway obstruction. is there. This method requires a machine to be worn during sleep, and makes it difficult to obtain a good night's sleep.

  Another treatment method is surgical treatment. In other words, it is called uvula soft palatopharyngoplasty, which removes part of the uvula, tonsils, soft palate, and widens the airway. This method is said to have a low success rate of symptom healing compared to a serious invasive method called surgery.

  In addition to the above two treatment methods, there is a simpler method of improving snoring by wearing a brace on the head during sleep. For example, Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, or Patent Literature 3 below discloses a technique for preventing snoring by mounting a brace under the lower jaw and preventing the lower jaw from descending. Patent Document 4 below discloses a technique for preventing snoring by preventing the lower jaw from being lowered by a belt provided on the lower jaw from the head.

Actual climb 3106876 US Pat. No. 6,668,834 US Published Patent 2006-266369 Noto 3122810

However, according to the research of the doctor who is an inventor, the method of mounting the brace on the head disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 cannot be expected to have a great therapeutic effect empirically.
The reason is considered as follows. That is, the tongue base and the soft palate, which cause sleep apnea syndrome, generally fall down in the airway, and therefore, the direction falls from the front of the face to the back of the face. On the other hand, the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 lift the lower jaw from the lower face to the upper face. That is, the direction is shifted by 90 degrees. Furthermore, the appliances disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are worn from the front, have a strong wearing feeling, and patients often unconsciously remove the appliance while sleeping.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device and a countermeasure pillow that can be expected to have a greater therapeutic effect and are less likely to be unconsciously removed.

In order to solve the above problems, the first invention is a pad that is in contact with the left and right rear edges of the mandible, a tape for attaching the pad to the skin, and formed at the rear end of the pad and in contact with the pillow. It is a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device characterized by comprising a pressing convex portion that generates a pressing force in front of the face on the mandible.
The second invention comprises a sleep apnea, characterized by comprising a pad in contact with the left and right rear edges of the mandible, and a tape for affixing the pad and the mandible to the skin while pressing the mandible forward Syndrome brace.
The third invention is further characterized in that the pads are two pads on the left and right sides in contact with the left and right rear edges of the mandible, and are formed by molding the rear edge of the mandible with a soft resin. It is a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device.
The fourth invention comprises a concave portion formed by molding the occipital region with a soft resin, and a contact convex portion that is formed on the left and right sides of the concave portion and touches the left and right rear edges of the mandible and generates a pressing force toward the front of the mandible. It is a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure pillow characterized by consisting of.

  According to the first, second, third, or fourth invention, the mandible is pressed forward of the face. The tongue base and soft palate, which cause sleep apnea syndrome, sag into the respiratory tract from the front of the face to the back of the face while lying on its back. Therefore, there is no deviation in the direction of preventing sagging. Therefore, a greater therapeutic effect can be expected. In fact, according to the research of the doctor who is the inventor, the treatment according to the present invention in which the mandible is pressed to the front of the face is empirically expected to have a great therapeutic effect as compared with the devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 above. I know.

Also, it can be worn from the back rather than from the front. Alternatively, it receives pressure from the back of the face. For this reason, it is unlikely that the patient unconsciously removes the brace while sleeping.
Further, according to the first invention, the pressing force to the mandible is generated by contacting the pillow, and a large pressing force can be obtained.
Further, according to the second invention, the pressing to the mandible is performed by the tape and is not related to the pillow. Therefore, pressing is performed even if you roll over.
Further, according to the third invention, the pad is formed by shaping the trailing edge of the mandible, fits to the mandible, is difficult to come off, and accurately transmits the pressing force.
Furthermore, according to the fourth invention, no tape is required as compared with the first, second, or third invention. Moreover, the convex part of the pillow also serves as a pad. Therefore, the feeling of wearing is extremely small.

It is a figure which shows the positional relationship with a mandible in the state which mounted | wore with the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which removed wearing of the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device in FIG. It is the figure showing only wearing of the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which mounts | wears with the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device of FIG. 3, and is using it with a pillow on the back. It is a figure which shows the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which is using the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure pillow concerning other embodiment.

1 to 5 show a sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, two pads 3 are used on the left and right rear edges 7 of the mandible 5 to contact the so-called error portion. A flexible urethane foam, which is a kind of soft resin, is used as a material, and the rear edge of the mandible 5 is molded and formed. A pressing protrusion 9 is formed at the rear end of the pad 3. The pressing convex part 9 is in a state where the patient is used on his back, and the rear part 11 is in contact with the pillow 13 (FIG. 5). As a result, a pressing force in front of the face is generated on the mandible 5.

These left and right pads 3 are attached to the skin with a medical tape 15. This tape 15 is elastic, for example, and can be applied to the skin with the pad 3 and the mandible 5 pressed against the front of the face.
"Effect of the embodiment"
The patient wears the sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device 1 (FIG. 5) according to this embodiment so that the pad 3 is in contact with the left and right rear edges 7 (FIG. 2) of the mandible 5 (FIG. 1). 3), used with the pillow 13 on its back (FIG. 4). There is a certain allowable range 14 in the range in which the pad 3 is pressed to press the left and right rear edges 7.

By such use, the mandible 5 is pressed to the front of the face by force from the tape 15 and the pillow 13 to be attached. As already elucidated, the tongue base and soft palate that cause sleep apnea syndrome fall into the respiratory tract from the front of the face to the back of the face while lying on the back. Therefore, by pressing the mandible 5 toward the front of the face, it is possible to efficiently prevent the tongue base portion and the soft palate that are organically linked to the mandible 5 from falling from the front of the face to the back of the face. That is, there is no deviation in the direction of prevention. In other words, as in Patent Documents 1 to 4, there is no such thing as being 90 degrees out of direction.
The techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 4 guide the lower jaw to the central occlusal position, that is, the position where the upper and lower teeth mesh most stably. It can be guided further forward than the normal position, which means that the tongue base and soft palate can be more actively prevented from falling down.
From these things, a sufficient airway can be secured. Therefore, a greater therapeutic effect can be expected compared to the conventional case.

In fact, according to the research of the doctor who is the inventor, the treatment with the brace of this embodiment has a large therapeutic effect although there are few experimental examples as compared with the brace disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4. From such experiments and experiences, great therapeutic effects can be expected.
Moreover, the brace of this embodiment is not worn from the front, but is worn from the back of the face, specifically from the back of the neck. In addition, the pillow 13 receives a pressure from behind the face. For this reason, compared with what is worn from the front like the devices of Patent Documents 1 to 4, it is less likely to be worn, and thus it is unlikely that the device will unintentionally remove the device while sleeping. It is.
Moreover, since the orthosis of this embodiment has a small wearing feeling, speech, eating and drinking, etc. are easily performed while wearing.

Furthermore, according to the brace of this embodiment, the pressing force to the mandible 5 is also generated by contacting the pillow 13, and a large pressing force is obtained.
Furthermore, according to the brace of this embodiment, the pressing to the mandible 5 is performed by the tape 15 and can be obtained to some extent even when the pad 3 is not in contact with the pillow 13. Therefore, pressing is performed even if you roll over.
Further, the pad 3 is formed by shaping the rear edge of the mandible 5, fits the mandible 5, is not easily detached, and can accurately transmit the pressing force.

"Other embodiments"
In the above embodiment, the pressure on the mandible 5 is generated by force from the tape 15 and the pillow 13. However, in other embodiments, the pressure only from the tape 15 or the pressure only from the pillow 13 may be used. .
In order to increase the pressure from the tape 15, in FIGS. 1 and 3, the direction in which the tape 15 is applied to the face may be set to the maxilla direction, not the mandible direction, that is, slightly upward.

Further, in the above embodiment, two pads 3 are provided on the left and right, but in another embodiment, one integrated pad 3 that is continuous on the left and right may be provided.
In the above embodiment, the pad 3 is made of a soft urethane foam. However, in another embodiment, the pad 3 may be made of another soft resin. Furthermore, any material other than resin may be used as long as it has a certain degree of softness and does not cause great discomfort in contact with the skin. For example, a rolled cloth or cotton may be used.

In the above embodiment, the pad 3, the tape 15, and the pillow 13 are used. However, in other embodiments, only the pillow 13 is used, and the pillow 13 can be provided with the role of the pad 3. it can.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, this sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure pillow 17 has a recess 19 formed by shaping the back of the head with soft urethane foam, and contact protrusions 21 are formed on the left and right of this recess 19. Is done. The contact convex portion 21 is in contact with the left and right rear edges 7 of the mandible 5, thereby causing the mandible 5 to be pressed forward in the face.

  Thereby, compared with the above embodiment, the tape 15 for affixing on skin is not required. Therefore, the feeling of wearing is extremely small.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device, 3 ... Pad, 5 ... Mandible, 7 ... Left and right rear edge, 9 ... Pressing convex part, 11 ... Rear part, 13 ... Pillow, 15 ... Tape, 17 ... Sleep apnea syndrome Countermeasure pillow, 19 ... concave, 21 ... contact convex.

Claims (2)

   A pad in contact with the left and right rear edges of the mandible, a tape for affixing the pad to the skin, and a pressing convex formed on the rear end of the pad and in contact with the pillow to cause the mandible to press forward on the face A sleep apnea countermeasure device characterized by comprising a part. A pad that touches the left and right rear edges of the mandible, and a tape that is pasted from the rear of the mandible to the front of the face in order to attach the pad to the skin in a state where the pad and the mandible are pressed forward of the face Sleep apnea syndrome countermeasure device characterized by that.

Images