A solution for sleep apnoea is on the horizon and it is called the 'Oventus Clearway Device'. It's a mouthguard which promotes clear breathing.
Sleep apnoea can be unbearable for all involved. Photo: Elias Quezada.
UPDATE, AUGUST 2015: Oventus have successfully completed clinical trials on the sleep apnoea mouthguard. The device is now available through clinicians in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, the Gold Coast and Cairns. To find out more visit the Oventus website: http://oventus.com.au/
…a good night’s sleep, a good night’s sleep.
Sing it with us now, snorers and snorer sufferers of Australia! Because we might be able to help.
Sleep apnoea is just, well, horrible. It’s a condition where the air passage in the throat becomes blocked during sleep and causes people to stop breathing. Ask any of the million or so Australians who suffer from it – or their sleeping partners – and they will tell you it can cause massive damage: not only physically but emotionally.
Severe cases experience hundreds of blockages per night, leading to high blood pressure, stroke, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and diabetes. Bed partners are affected too, with their chances of getting a good sleep rendered near impossible. It can lead to relationship breakdowns, and worse.
Thankfully, a new CSIRO-made solution may just offer a Christmas miracle: a 3D-printed titanium mouthguard that helps air flow freely for sufferers while they’re sleeping.
The titanium Clearway Device (the world’s shortest snorkel?)
Brisbane-based dentist Chris Hart first had the idea for a mouthguard with airways that would assist airflow past the sleep apnoea sufferer’s soft palate. He approached us for help developing a device 3D-printed from titanium, with a soft medical grade plastic mouthguard.
The result is the Oventus Clearway Device. It’s essentially a ‘duckbill’ which extends from the mouth like a whistle and divides into two separate airways. This allows air to flow through to the back of the throat, bypassing obstructions that cause the problems.
For Gold Coast retiree and sleep apnoea sufferer Maurice Hrovat, 57, the new device – which he was lucky enough to trial – has been not just sleep-changing but life-changing. Hrovat was, in an apparently massive understatement, “quite a good snorer”, and had long ago been banished from his and his wife’s bed, to sleep down the hallway.
Hrovat reported immediate benefits from his trial of the device. “I used to need an afternoon nap, I was so exhausted from a bad night’s sleep,” Hrovat says, but they’re now a thing of the past. “I find I am getting up earlier, and exercising more.” And, most importantly, he’s been allowed back into the bedroom.
6th January 2015 at 12:31 am
Hi again! Where does the titanium stand in regards to heavy metal poisoning? That’s the only thing stopping me at the moment. The toxicity going to the brain. Will they have other mouth pieces made of different materials in the future?
6th January 2015 at 9:37 am
AFAIK Titanium is not poisonous (e.g. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7263760), otherwise I am in trouble as I’ve got a lump in my leg.
6th January 2015 at 10:38 pm
Thank you! 😀
6th January 2015 at 1:34 pm
Hi,
Regarding titanium implants, there is a recent 2011 study that used more sensitive techniques, which can be found here:
http://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1197221-0
In regards to the mouth piece, the Oventus device is not invasive, it is merely placed in the mouth. Toxicity would not be a problem.
Many thanks,
Jesse Hawley,
Social media team
6th January 2015 at 10:42 pm
Thank you 🙂
4th January 2015 at 7:29 pm
Just wondering on the pricing because @ the moment I’m using another product and it seems this works aswell.
5th January 2015 at 2:42 pm
Hi Cosimo,
The product is made by our commercial partner Oventus and they have set the price at $1500, but the out-of-pocket expense does depend on your individual requirements and insurance cover. We would recommend contacting Oventus (see link in article) for more information.
best
Carol Saab
Social media team
19th December 2014 at 10:10 am
I don’t suppose there is any support for people who want to make their own?
19th December 2014 at 10:55 am
I bet not, but you’d have to enquire with Oventus. Aside from the 3D printing, the mouthpiece is molded by the dentist.
19th December 2014 at 8:58 am
Hi,
Question 1
I am interested. I have sever sleep apnoea and have been diagnosed as needing a full CPAP with pressure of 9. Consequently previously available mouth or nose-worn devices have been deemed inadequate to manage the problem. How is it determined whether the device will be suited to the patient’s need?
Question 2
Does the device stick out from the patient’s mouth? If so how is it prevented from being dislodged during sleep? Apparently I am a restless sleeper.
Question 3
I live in Warrnambool. If the device would be suitable for me where would I go to get it fitted in the new year and how early would it be available?
Best
Arielle Hamilton-Jones
PS the site your article directs us to has nothing for us to access.
18th December 2014 at 7:06 pm
Can’t get to the website 🙁
19th December 2014 at 9:19 am
Fixed! Sorry, Alec.