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Inspire
An estimated 18 million Americans live with sleep apnea, often using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to get a better night's sleep. But now there's a novel approach for treating sleep apnea – and we're the only facility in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Arkansas to offer it.
Inspire is an innovative way to treat patients who find the CPAP machine difficult or impossible to use. We're excited to give patients an alternative for their obstructive sleep apnea. It's an implantable device that demonstrates just how far treatment in this field has come. – Suzanne Stevens, MD
Sleep medicine specialist
What is sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when breathing is repeatedly stopped and started due to a narrowed or closed airway. As the throat muscles relax, the airway closes, limiting the oxygen intake to the lungs. The brain senses a drop in the oxygen levels and arouses or wakes the sleeper, causing the airway to open. Patients often awake with a gasp or snort, with the pattern occurring 5-30 times an hour all night long.
"We see people who are exhausted, even though they were in bed all night," says Dr. Stevens. In addition to daytime tiredness and irritability, people with sleep apnea are at higher risk for stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and liver problems. Other complications can include memory problems, mood disorders, heart attacks and heart rhythm disorders.
"The gold standard treatment is the CPAP machine," says Dr. Stevens. "But it doesn't work for everyone. It can be inconvenient and uncomfortable. In addition, there is maintenance and it is not aesthetically pleasing."

About Inspire
The Inspire device monitors your breathing while you sleep and opens your airway. It is for those with moderate sleep apnea who are 22 years or older and not significantly obese. You control the device, which is surgically implanted, with a handheld remote.
Call 913-588-1227 or request an appointment.
How Inspire works
Those who qualify for Inspire have a minor outpatient procedure. The physician implants the small nerve stimulator device and battery pack under the skin in the chest. One electronic lead, or wire, connects the device to the nerve that stimulates the tongue. The other lead connects to a space in the ribs near the diaphragm. Once connected, the device monitors the patient's breathing. The device sends an impulse to the tongue during every breath while sleeping, keeping the airway open for oxygen.
After the procedure, patients wait for 30 days to heal. Then they return to the physician, who activates the device. Once activated, patients can use a handheld remote control device to turn Inspire on before they go to sleep each night. They can also pause, and turn it off in the morning. The battery pack is designed to last 7-10 years, much like a pacemaker.
"With only the remote to keep track of, this treatment is so much more convenient than the CPAP machine," Dr. Stevens says. "There are no hoses or masks to clean or maintain. It's not uncomfortable or unappealing to wear. It's also much better for patients who travel frequently."
Dr. Suzanne Stevens: We have a new technology, which is very exciting, called the hypoglossal nerve stimulator that is offering an alternative to the CPAP therapy for patients that can't tolerate CPAP.
Dr. Suzanne Stevens: Well, if you've tried the machine and have difficulty with compliance or tolerating the machine, some people go through many masks and can't find the right mask to make a seal for the air to be delivered correctly, those are people that would benefit greatly from this device.
Dr. Chris Larsen: We have three year data now following patients that have had the implant, and 90% of patients are still using the implant three years later. Whereas most patients that use CPAP or the statistics on CPAP, there's about a 40% to 50% compliance, meaning that 60% of patients don't use the CPAP adequately to treat their disease.
Dr. Chris Larsen: This device stimulates the nerve that moves the back of the pallet or the back of the throat and the back of the tongue forward to relieve that obstruction when a patient is sleeping.
Dr. Chris Larsen: The device is implanted in a pocket below the skin, and then you can see these two places where the electrodes can come in. One is tunneled down below the skin to between the ribs, and the other one is tunneled up into the neck and wraps around the hypoglossal nerve.
Dr. Chris Larsen: It's got a remote control so patients can turn it on before they go to bed, and then it's also programmed to start working at X minutes past turning it on. So depending how long it takes the patient typically to fall asleep, it's programmed to start working at that interval.
Ron Hofmann: Typically I was waking up about two o'clock in the morning and staying awake until four or five o'clock with all sorts of problems or just bizarre things to think about while you're laying there with nothing to do.
Ron Hofmann: It was getting really, really bad, and I said, "I don't know what else to do, and I'm going to give the CPAP one more chance." And I found a doctor here that took the machine in and said, "You know, this machine is not programmed right for what you're going through," and everything else. And we got that set up, and I still couldn't get used to the mask. And then I was referred to this program and said they may be able to help you. I was elated that there was something out there because I had no other choice.
This was just a godsend that we found out about this. Right place, right time. And being at KU and working with the doctors here, the best.
New treatment, positive results
Approximately 1,000 devices have been implanted in patients throughout the world so far, and the data is very promising. "Over 36 months, the data indicate this device eliminates sleep apnea or significantly reduces snoring and daytime sleepiness," says Dr. Stevens. "With our interdisciplinary approach involving ear, nose and throat professionals and sleep specialists to treat these disorders, we are one of the few facilities that can offer this high level of treatment to our patients."
Frequently asked questions
Our experts
Learn more about our leaders in sleep disorder treatment and research. We also collaborate with registered polysomnographic technologists who administer sophisticated sleep studies to help physicians and care teams make the best decisions and recommendations for effective care.
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Accepting New Patients
Sowjanya Duthuluru
PulmonologyLocations:- The University of Kansas Hospital
- 4000 Cambridge Street
- Kansas City, KS 66160
Clinical Focus:- Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Critical Care Medicine
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Accepting New Patients
Christopher G Larsen
OtolaryngologyLocations:- KU MedWest
- 7405 Renner Road
- Shawnee, KS 66217
Clinical Focus:- Otolaryngology
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Accepting New Patients
Usman Nazir
PulmonologyLocations:- The University of Kansas Hospital
- 4000 Cambridge Street
- Kansas City, KS 66160
Clinical Focus:- Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Critical Care Medicine
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Accepting New Patients
David T Rouse
OtolaryngologyLocations:- Corporate Medical Plaza, Building 3
- 10787 Nall Avenue
- Overland Park, KS 66211
Clinical Focus:- Otolaryngology
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Accepting New Patients
Nancy V Stewart
PulmonologyLocations:- Medical Pavilion
- 2000 Olathe Boulevard
- Kansas City, KS 66160
Clinical Focus:- Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Critical Care Medicine
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Accepting New Patients
Damien R Stevens
PulmonologyLocations:- The University of Kansas Hospital
- 4000 Cambridge Street
- Kansas City, KS 66160
Clinical Focus:- Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Critical Care Medicine
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Accepting New Patients
Mary Suzanne Stevens
NeurologyLocations:- Clinical Research Center
- 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway
- Fairway, KS 66205
Clinical Focus:- Neurology
- Sleep Medicine