BREATHING ASSISTANCE ORAL APPARATUS

1 . A breathing assistance apparatus including a body shaped to be at least partially positioned within the oral cavity of a user, the body including:

a) a bite configured to receive teeth of the user in use;

b) an extra-oral opening that extends between lips of the user;

c) an intra-oral opening provided in the oral cavity to allow airflow into and/or out of a posterior region of the oral cavity; and,

d) at least one airway wall configured to define in combination with the bite an enclosed airway extending between the extra-oral and intra-oral openings.

2 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the airway is configured to be positioned at least one of:

a) substantially between the user's teeth in use; and,

b) only between the user's teeth in use.

3 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one airway wall includes inner and outer airway side walls extending from an airway base wall to the bite.

4 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one airway wall is at least partially deformable to accommodate relative movement of a user's mandibular and maxillary teeth.

5 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the bite includes inner and outer bite side walls extending from a bite base.

6 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the bite is shaped to conform to an arch of the user's teeth.

7 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one airway wall defines an open channel in engagement with the bite to form the enclosed airway.

8 . An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the at least one airway wall is coupled to the bite using at least one of:

a) welding;

b) adhesive;

c) chemical bonding; and,

d) mechanical bonding.

9 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one airway wall and the bite are formed integrally using additive manufacturing.

10 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes at least one of:

a) a maxillary bite configured to receive maxillary teeth of the user in use; and,

b) a mandibular bite configured to receive mandibular teeth of the user in use.

11 . An apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the apparatus includes at least one of:

a) a first body including the maxillary bite; and,

b) a second body including the mandibular bite.

12 . An apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the apparatus includes a coupling that allows a relative position of the first and second bodies to be adjusted.

13 . An apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the coupling includes an arm extending between first and second arm mountings provided on the first and second bodies respectively, and wherein a relative position of the first and second bodies is adjusted based on a length of the arm.

14 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes:

a) a first body including:

i) a maxillary bite;

ii) the extra-oral opening;

iii) the intra-oral opening; and,

iv) the at least one airway; and,

b) a second body including the mandibular bite.

15 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the extra-oral opening is defined by a tubular body protruding forwardly from the body.

16 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the body includes at least two channels, each channel connecting a respective intra-oral opening to the extra-oral opening.

17 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the body is made of at least one of:

a) nylon;

b) a thermosetting polymer;

c) a thermoplastic polymer;

d) silicone;

e) an elastomer;

f) polycarbonate;

g) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene;

h) polyvinylsiloxane;

i) polyurethane; and,

j) ethylvinylacetate.

18 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one airway wall and the bite are formed from different materials.

19 . A method of manufacturing a breathing assistance apparatus for a user, the method including:

a) obtaining shape information indicative of a shape of at least one of the user's dental arches;

b) manufacturing a body shaped to be at least partially positioned within the oral cavity of a user, the body including:

i) a bite configured to receive teeth of the user in use;

ii) an extra-oral opening that extends between lips of the user;

iii) an intra-oral opening provided in the oral cavity to allow airflow into and/or out of a posterior region of the oral cavity; and,

iv) at least one airway wall configured to define in combination with the bite an enclosed airway extending between the extra-oral and intra-oral openings.

20 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes:

a) manufacturing the bite;

b) manufacturing the at least one airway wall to define an open channel; and,

c) coupling the at least one airway wall to the bite to form the enclosed airway.

21 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes coupling the at least one airway wall to the bite using at least one of:

a) welding;

b) adhesive;

c) chemical bonding; and,

d) mechanical bonding.

22 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes integrally forming the at least one airway wall and the bite using additive manufacturing.

23 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes manufacturing the bite using the shape information.

24 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes manufacturing the bite using additive manufacturing.

25 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes manufacturing the body using at least one of:

a) nylon;

b) a thermosetting polymer;

c) a thermoplastic polymer;

d) silicone;

e) an elastomer;

f) polycarbonate;

g) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene;

h) polyvinylsiloxane;

i) polyurethane; and,

j) ethylvinylacetate.

26 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes manufacturing the at least one airway wall and the bite are formed from different materials.

27 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes manufacturing at least one of:

a) a first body including a maxillary bite shaped to conform to maxillary teeth of the user;

b) a second body including a mandibular bite shaped to conform to mandibular teeth of the user.

28 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes deriving the shape information from at least one of:

a) a dental impression;

b) a series of photos of the user's teeth;

c) a scan of at least part of the user's oral cavity;

d) a CT scan of at least part of the user's oral cavity;

e) a 3D scan of the user's teeth; and,

f) cone beam imaging.

29 . A method according to claim 28 , wherein the series of photos of the patients mouth or impression taken with a smart phone and the photos are then loaded into a software program to derive a 3D image including an STL file.

30 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the shape information includes dimensions of at least one of:

a) at least part of the oral cavity of the user; and,

b) at least part of dental arches of the user.

31 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the method includes:

a) obtaining template data representing a bite design;

b) modifying the bite design using the shape information;

c) generating modified template data using the modified bite design; and,

d) manufacturing the body using the modified template data.

32 . A method according to claim 31 , wherein the modified template data is in the form of a print file for use in an additive manufacturing machine.