ALTERING THE STIFFNESS, SIZE, AND/OR SHAPE OF TISSUES FOR BREATHING DISORDERS AND OTHER CONDITIONS

摘要

Medical devices, systems, and methods mitigate a variety of disorders, including sleep-related breathing disorders. A stiffness, shape, and/or size of a reinforced tissue structure can be altered by applying a magnetic field and/or electrical field. The upper airway can be remodeled at night while maintaining physiological movement (such as swallowing, speaking, singing, and the like) when awake. Biasing of the tissue structures may also be employed.