Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disorder characterized by episodes of decreased or absent inspiratory airflow during sleep. OSA is the world’s second-most common sleep disorder, plaguing over 1 billion patients worldwide with relentless, disruptive periods of restricted airflow during sleep.
Positive airway pressure (PAP) delivered through a tight-fitting mask is currently the most advanced technique for preventing airway collapse or airway narrowing during sleep, and is considered the primary treatment option for patients with moderate to severe OSA. However, this approach has several disadvantages and patients very often struggle to comply with the therapy.
A more recent alternative treatment for airway modulation during sleep is hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS), which stimulates the genioglossus muscle of the tongue, causing the tongue to protrude and the opening of the airway. However, the effectiveness of this technique is limited due to its invasive nature.
To this end, we have recently shown that a non-invasive form of HNS can be effective in treating OSA patients by using temporal interference (TI), a new non-invasive electrical stimulation technology which has been successfully advanced also for other clinical applications by the PI, Adam Williamson.

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