Jaw displacement system and method for manufacturing such a system for the treatment of sleep apnoea and/or snoring

1 . A method for manufacturing a jaw displacement system for treatment of sleep apnoea and/or snoring by moving a lower jaw forward, in a ventral direction, in relation to an upper jaw, comprising:

providing a first and a second bone anchor, in which each bone anchor contains a fixation plate that allows the bone anchor to be attached to a bone of the upper or lower jaw, wherein this fixation plate is connected to a first rod that leads to a mount and wherein the first rod must stretch through gums when the bone anchor is attached to said bone so that the mount is located in the oral cavity,

wherein said first bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the upper jaw and said second bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the lower jaw anterior to the first bone anchor,

providing a jaw displacer having a first end and a second end, and comprising a second rod disposed at said first end and a rod guide disposed at said second end, wherein the second rod is movable in a longitudinal direction of the rod guide and is detachable in relation to the rod guide,

providing said rod guide with a spring so that the rod guide can be deformed in the longitudinal direction between a compressed state and an extended state,

providing couplers which allow each of said ends of the jaw displacer to be connected in a detachable manner to the mount of the first bone anchor or the second bone anchor respectively,

selecting a position of the mount of the first bone anchor and of the second bone anchor respectively in relation to the corresponding fixation plate such that, if both bone anchors were attached to the respective jaws, the mount of the second bone anchor is positioned anterior and inferior to the mount of the first bone anchor and a connecting line would be established between the couplers of said ends of the jaw displacer, said connecting line extending on a side of the lower jaw inferior to a rotation point of the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw when the jaws are in a closed position, and

wherein the spring cooperates with said second rod, when the jaw displacement system is mounted in the oral cavity, to exert a pushing force on the second rod in the longitudinal direction of the rod guide so that the lower jaw is moved forward in an anterior direction in relation to the upper jaw.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said couplers comprise a hook and eye, the hook of which can be fixed to the eye in a detachable manner.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the eyes of said couplers are attached to the ends of the jaw displacer in such a way that the eyes have a central axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the jaw displacer.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein one of said eyes is provided at said second end of the jaw displacer in such a way that a central axis thereof is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the rod guide.

5 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the eyes of said couplers are provided at the ends of the jaw displacer in such a way that the eyes have a central axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of the jaw displacer.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein one of said eyes is provided at said first end of the jaw displacer in such a way that a central axis thereof is transverse to a longitudinal direction of the second rod, the central axis intersecting the longitudinal axis of the jaw displacer.

7 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein said connecting line between the couplers of said ends of the jaw displacer connects support points between the hook and the eye of the coupler, respectively, and extends on the side of the lower jaw below the rotation point of the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw when the jaws are in the closed position.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , where the lower and upper jaw, respectively, present a dental arch and where a U-shaped hook of each coupler is provided on the mount of said bone anchors in such a way that, when the first and second bone anchors is attached to the lower and upper jaw, respectively, the U-shaped hook will extend parallel to the dental arch of the lower and upper jaw, respectively or, in particular, in a plane which is tangential to the dental arch.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , where said upper and lower jaw define an occlusal plane and said hook is provided on the mount in such a way that an open side of the hook extends to a side of a concerned jaw, while a closed side of the hook extends to the occlusal plane.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , in which said rod guide is made hollow with an open end opposite the second end, in order to allow the second rod to be moved and guided in the rod guide according to its longitudinal direction.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , where a distance is present between the mount of the first and second bone anchors when attached to the lower jaw and upper jaw, respectively, and the lower jaw and the upper jaw are in a wide open position, where said second rod has a length and said rod guide has a length, wherein the length of the second rod plus the length of the rod guide in said extended state is selected greater than said distance, whereas the length of the second rod increased by the length of the rod guide when it is compressed, is smaller than said distance.

12 . The method according to claim 1 , where a ring or stop tube is fitted to said second rod, wherein the ring or stop tube works together with the rod guide in order to exert a pushing force between the mount of the first bone anchor and the mount of the second bone anchor when said bone anchors are attached to the lower and upper jaw, respectively.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a model of the upper jaw and of the lower jaw is generated, wherein said first bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that can be fitted to a selected part of the upper jaw and said second bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that can be fitted to a selected part of the lower jaw.

14 . A jaw displacement system for treatment of sleep apnoea and/or snoring, comprising:

a first and a second bone anchor, wherein each bone anchor contains a fixation plate which is configured to attach the bone anchor to a bone of an upper or lower jaw, wherein this fixation plate is connected to a first rod that leads to a mount and wherein the first rod is configured to pass through gums when the bone anchor is attached to said bone, such that the mount is configured to be located in the oral cavity, wherein said first bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the upper jaw and said second bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the lower jaw, wherein the second bone anchor is configured to be positioned anterior to the first bone anchor,

a jaw displacer having a first end and a second end, comprising a second rod disposed at the first end and a rod guide disposed at the second end, the second rod is movable in a longitudinal direction of the rod guide and detachable in relation to the rod guide by sliding the rod guide with respect to the second rod along the longitudinal direction,

couplers allowing each of said ends of the jaw displacer to be detachably connected to the mount of the first or second bone anchor respectively, each of said couplers comprising a hook and eye, in which the hook can be attached in a detachable manner in the eye, wherein the eye is fixed with the rod guide and has a central axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rod guide, while the hook is provided on the mount of the respective bone anchor,

wherein, when both bone anchors are configured to be attached to respective upper and lower jaws, the mount of the second bone anchor is positioned anterior and inferior to the mount of the first bone anchor and a connecting line is established between the couplers of said ends of the jaw displacer, said connecting line configured to extend on a side of the lower jaw inferior to a rotation point of the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw when the upper and lower jaws are configured to be in a closed position, and

wherein said rod guide contains a spring so that the rod guide can be deformed in its longitudinal direction between a compressed state and an extended state, and

wherein the spring cooperates with said second rod, when the jaw displacement system is mounted in a user's oral cavity, to exert a pushing force on the second rod in the longitudinal direction of the rod guide so that the lower jaw is moved forward in an anterior direction in relation to the upper jaw.

15 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 14 , wherein the rod guide contains a tube with a first tube end and a second tube end, wherein one of said couplers is provided at the first tube end, while the spring extends along the tube in an uncompressed state up to at least the second tube end.

16 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 15 , wherein the spring is coaxial with said tube.

17 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 15 , wherein the tube extends at least partially in the spring.

18 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 15 , wherein said tube is a telescopic tube with parts which can freely move in relation to each other, said parts configured to be moved between a retracted position and an extended position, wherein said spring exerts a pushing force on said parts according to said longitudinal direction to bring said parts to said extended position.

19 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 15 , wherein opposite ends of said spring are connected with respectively said first and said second tube ends.

20 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 15 , wherein said second rod is provided with a ring or stop tube for said spring and/or said tube.

21 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 14 , wherein said rod guide contains a tube with a first tube end and a second tube end, one of said couplers is provided at the first tube end, while the spring connects to the second tube end and extends in prolongation of the tube.

22 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 14 , wherein the spring comprises a cylindrical coil spring.

23 . The jaw displacement system according to 14 , wherein one of said eyes is fixed to said second end.

24 . A jaw displacement system for treatment of sleep apnoea and/or snoring, comprising:

a first and a second bone anchor, where each bone anchor contains a fixation plate configured to attach the bone anchor to a bone of an upper or lower jaw, where the fixation plate is connected to a connector that leads to a mount and where the connector is configured to pass through gums when the bone anchor is attached to said bone, such that the mount is configured to be located in the oral cavity, wherein said first bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the upper jaw and said second bone anchor is designed with said fixation plate that is intended to be fixed to a selected part of the lower jaw, wherein the second bone anchor is configured to be positioned anterior to the first bone anchor,

a jaw displacer having a first end and second end, having a rod disposed at said first end and a rod guide disposed at said second end, the rod being movable in a longitudinal direction of the rod guide and detachable in relation to the rod guide,

couplers allowing each of said ends of the jaw displacer, respectively, to be connected in a detachable manner to the mount of the first or second bone anchor, respectively,

wherein, when both bone anchors are configured to be attached to the respective jaws, the mount of the second bone anchor is positioned anterior and inferior to the mount of the first bone anchor and a connecting line is established between the couplers of said ends of the jaw displacer, said connecting line configured to extend on a side of the lower jaw inferior to a rotation point of the lower jaw in relation to the upper jaw when the upper and lower jaws are configured to be in a closed position, and

wherein each of said couplers comprise a hook and eye, where the hook can be attached to the eye in a detachable manner and wherein the eye is fixed with the rod guide and has a central axis perpendicular to a plane extending along the eye, wherein the central axis is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rod guide, while the hook is provided on the mount of the respective bone anchor,

wherein said rod guide contains a spring so that the rod guide can be deformed in its longitudinal direction between a compressed state and an extended state, and

wherein the spring cooperates with said rod, when the jaw displacement system is mounted in the oral cavity, to exert a pushing force on the second rod in the longitudinal direction of the rod guide so that the lower jaw is moved forward in an anterior direction in relation to the upper jaw.

25 . The jaw displacement system according to claim 24 , where one of said eyes is fixed to said second end.