Thomas Medical is developing Therapnea, a device that treats adult obstructive sleep apnea using an approach that overcomes compliance problems with effective clinical performance.Therapnea is a stent applied inside the patient's mouth from a dental plate that provides mechanical support for the upper airways to prevent airway collapse.

The stent is inserted after the patient is asleep and apnea has started.Therapnea relies on a method to circumvent the gag reflex that, until now, prevented this approach.

In a clinical study, Therapnea was validated as being able to circumvent nausea and the gag reflex in 100% of patients and prevent apnea events after the stent was inserted.The company's proof-of-concept clinical study has shown promising results.

The company is also developing a device to prevent snoring, based on the same technology.