| 摘要 |
The invention is directed to devices and methods for tissue dilators. In preferred embodiments, the dilators are particularly advantageous for use as a nasal dilator for dilating or supporting tissues overlying a nasal passage. The present invention relates to tissue dilator devices, methods of fabrication of tissue dilators, and methods of use for tissue dilators. In particular, the present invention relates to a wide variety of tissue dilators adapted to be coupled to dilate interior nasal passages of a subject including the vestibule and/or the valve thereof. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated or described embodiments as they are intended merely to assist the reader of this disclosure in understanding the subject matter of the invention described, taught, enabled and depicted herein. As for tissue dilator devices, the present invention encompasses a large variety of discrete structure, all intended to be applied externally to a subject for the purpose of dilating, or lifting, tissue adjacent to nasal passageways of the subject, including the vestibule and/or the valve of the subject so as to decrease resistance to inhalation and exhalation of said subject during respiration. The tissue dilators of the present invention include those having at least one resilient member providing a first biasing force, or restoring force, so that when mechanically coupled to dilate adjacent tissue of a subject, the dilator constantly exerts a force developed to return the resilient member to an unbent state. In addition, a second biasing force may be applied to assist in producing a desired dilation of tissue of a subject that acts in concert with the first biasing force to impart an additional amount of force to dilate tissue of a subject. As for methods of fabrication of tissue dilator devices, the present invention teaches and enables those of skill in the manufacturing art to rapidly and efficiently produce the tissue dilator devices described herein. That is, in addition to existing methods and techniques for fabrication of tissue dilators, the present invention add several new methods and techniques for fabricating tissue dilators according to the present invention. As for methods of use of such tissue dilators, the present invention teaches and enables several inventive methods of use of tissue dilators for the devices described herein.
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