UPDATE: 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/
Our 3D printing experts have been on the grind with dental company Oventus to help over a million Aussies suffering from sleep apnoea breathe easy and stop snoring—their bed buddies might just thank us too.
The team have created the first 3D printed mouth piece, which allows air to flow through to the back of the throat, avoiding obstructions from the nose, the back of the mouth and tongue. Is there anything 3D printing can’t do?
Up close and personalised: The 3D printed mouthguard.
This is how it works: A patient’s mouth is scanned to create a mini ‘road map’ of the mouth. This scan is then transformed into a CAD file and can be fed through our 3D printer.
Eight hours later, ta-da! A perfectly fitting, titanium mouthguard.
Sounds super comfortable right? It actually is. The device is coated in medical grade plastic, making it easy to wear and leaving not a metal mouth in sight.
Sleep apnoea occurs when the air passage in the throat becomes blocked during sleep and causes people to stop breathing. In severe cases, people can suffer hundreds of events per night and one of the biggest symptoms? Snoring.
The breakthrough mouthguard has a ‘duckbill’ which extends from the mouth like a whistle and the sides of the guard divide into two separate airways.
Since it is used only on the top teeth it is more compact than treatments on the market, which include devices that push the lower jaw forward to open up the airway or in more severe cases; a face mask which creates a continuous flow of air.
Our 3D printing expert, John Barnes, said the technology is opening new doors for treatments of a range of medical issues globally.
“When Oventus came to us with this idea, we were really excited. The possibilities of 3D printing are endless and the fact that we can now design and print a completely customised mouthpiece for patients is revolutionary.
“We can print up to ten of these in a print run, which takes about 8 hours. It’s an exciting prospect for people suffering from the debilitating disorder and the design offers significant benefits which cannot be achieved with more traditional manufacturing techniques.”
Time to say goodbye to snoring. Image: Flickr/wolfhunter
The device is undergoing further trials and is expected to be available to patients next year.
Thanks to 3D printing, we can say goodnight to sleep apnoea.
And goodbye to snoring.
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CSIRO’s additive manufacturing facility, Lab 22, is currently being used to manufacture a range of prototype products including biomedical implants, automotive, aerospace and defence parts for Australian industry.
Media: Angela Beggs | angela.beggs@csiro.au | 03 9545 2977 | 0477 337 920
24th October 2015 at 12:01 pm
Can you suggest a reputable sleep technician to assess viability for your Oventus device, western Sydney / pref one that has no affiliation with your business.
9th November 2015 at 2:27 pm
Hi Ross, we don’t have any insights about reputable sleep technicians as our part was in the manufacturing and the 3D printing of the sleep apnoea device. It would be best to contact Oventus directly, as they will know which technicians can assess you. You can reach them here: http://oventus.com.au/contact-us/
24th April 2015 at 11:42 pm
How can I get one of these?
26th April 2015 at 4:40 pm
Hi James-Anthony,
Thanks for your interest in the oventus clearway device. Our website is http://www.oventus.com.au or you can call us on (07) 3210 2913. I hope this helps.
12th April 2015 at 6:35 pm
Hi ,
Like a lot of the previous posts l too have been using a CPAP unit and while the unit is great, (but a hassle for obvious married and travel and comfort reasons) l am finding my bottom jaw needs to be more forward, as my throat restricts when l sleep, making my breathing when l exhale blow out through my mouth, exiting out the side of my mask, breaking the seal and rendering my mouth extremely dry, waking me up. I am solely a nose breather attempting to keep my mouth closed when l sleep.
Would this mouthguard be of any benefit to me with the airway channel built in the front of it ?
l too would love to participate in any clinical trials for this, being a cpap user for around 15 years and also having a septoplasy procedure and still no success for an unbroken nights sleep.
Cheers,
Peter
21st April 2015 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for your comment Peter. Combination therapy may well be beneficial for you by the sounds of it. Best to discuss with your sleep physician and dentist. If you are wearing a full face or oro-nasal mask then the Oventus device would be beneficial as it will hold the mandible forward and also create a second “nose” within your mouth so the air can get to the back of the throat unimpeded and possibly at lower pressure while at the same time maintaining an oral seal to prevent drying out of the mouth. If you are solely a nose breather then you could combine any mandibular advancement device with a Nasal pillow or nasal mask. In this instance the Oventus device would not be indicated as it would provide a continuously open airway for the air to escape (in through the nose and out through the device airway). If the problem is leakage around the mask caused by moving the jaw forward the device you choose should ideally not have any ability for jaw movement (your bottom jaw would need to be held in one position). The jaw position will need to be carefully analysed and recorded for comfort and long term efficacy in this case. Our clinical trials are fully subscribed at the moment and we have TGA registration for the device. We are using them in our clinics already so we don’t have any opportunities to be involved in clinical trials at this time unfortunately. You are welcome to go the website and register in case there are any changes to this or if you want to investigate whether it would work for you. I hope this helps.
30th March 2015 at 7:53 pm
I would love to be part of a trial for this product, I have been on a cpap machine for about 15 years. The complaint from my partner is the noise from the cpap machine.
12th March 2015 at 12:32 am
The causes for sleep apnoea is not only a retrposition of the tongue. There are many patients whom will not benefit from this devise as they will have soft palate pathology, epiglottal prolapse, nasal airway obstruction and importantly end-stage side-wall collapse of the throat muscles. A splint should therefore not be offered without a diagnostic work up.
16th March 2015 at 5:44 pm
Thank you for your comment Dr Malan. We at Oventus agree that all patients should be diagnosed by a sleep physician before proceeding with an Oventus Clearway Device for the treatment of OSA. We deliver our devices in line with the ASA and AADSM guidelines for oral appliance therapy and recommend all dentists delivering them do the same. The device does deal with the retro position of the tongue in the same way other mandibular advancement devices do but also has the ability to bypass obstructions of the nose and soft palate through the inbuilt airway.