As the first FDA-cleared, fully implanted neurostimulation device for obstructive sleep apnea becomes available in additional cities throughout the United States, Sleep Review provides guidance on how to screen patients for this therapy.

Inspire Medical System Inc’s implantable device for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the first treatment of its kind cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While it is designed for patients who can’t be treated with traditional clinical methods, it isn’t a panacea.

In fact, both the FDA and Inspire Medical have developed guidelines designed to help clinicians make sure the patient fits the medical criteria that are needed for Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation to be an appropriate therapy. While the criteria resemble the screening patients will undergo for the traditional treatments, Inspire screening is more comprehensive—evaluating everything from sleep hygiene to patient anatomy.