FDA approves Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation therapy for sleep apnea

Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. announced May 1 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy for use in a subset of patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who are unable to use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Inspire therapy is a fully implanted neurostimulation device that senses breathing patterns and delivers mild stimulation to key airway muscles, which keeps the airway open during sleep. The company, which is based in Minneapolis, Minn., indicated that Inspire therapy will be commercially available to patients in the U.S. in the second half of 2014.