Dynamic mandibular and lingual repositioning devices, controller station, and methods of treating and/or diagnosing medical disorders

1. A mandibular lingual repositioning device comprising:

a mandibular piece having a first teeth covering and having a housing proximate each of a left molar portion and a right molar portion, a protrusive flange extending cranially from each housing, and a protrusion extending from at least one of the housings and configured to extend toward a tongue of a user at a position to sit under the tongue and enclosing a sensor therein, wherein each housing encloses a power source electrically connected to a motor, to an on-board circuit board, and to the sensor within the protrusion; and wherein a first driver is operatively connected to the motor for cranial and caudal adjustments of the device; and

a maxillary piece having a second teeth covering and a second driver configured to engage the protrusive flange of the mandibular piece;

wherein the maxillary piece sits on the mandibular piece with the first driver operatively engaged with the maxillary piece and the second driver operatively engaged with the protrusive flange of the mandibular piece;

wherein the sensor is selected from the group consisting of a oxygen sensor, a vibration sensor, an airflow sensor, a pH sensor, an ultrasound sensor, an electrocardiogram sensor, an electro-oculogram sensor, an electro-encephalogram sensor, a temperature sensor, a potentiometer, a pulse transit time sensor, an electromyogram sensor, a glucose sensor, a blood pressure sensor, a body position sensors, a jaw position sensor, a nerve conduction sensor, a heart rhythm sensor, a heart rate sensor, a hygrometer sensor, a carotid doppler (trans-oral) sensor, a cardiac trans-oral echocardiography sensor, a sound sensor, a nerve conduction sensor for nerves of the tongue, pharynx, or jaw muscles, and combinations thereof;

wherein the on-board circuit board has a microprocessor having instructions to activate the motors controlling the first driver based on data from the sensor enclosed within the lingual protrusion to increase or decrease the opening of an airway of the user, thereby moving the protrusive flange along an anterior surface of the second driver, and wherein as the mandibular piece moves downward with jaw opening forward mandibular movement occurs, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of a user's upper airway.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a pulse oximetry sensor.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the protrusion is positioned to place the pulse oximeter sensor antero-superiorly to measure blood-flow through the user's tongue.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of sensors in the protrusion, wherein a first sensor thereof is a pulse oximetry sensor and a second sensor thereof is a vibration and airflow sensor.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first driver is a flat plate.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the protrusive flange has a bend that orients the free end thereof generally toward the posterior and the second driver has a head shaped to fit the shape of the posterior side of the protrusive flange.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the protrusive flange is releasably attachable to the housing of the mandibular piece.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the protrusive flange has a concavely-shaped anterior surface mated to the second driver, and the second driver has a convexly-shaped head to match the shape of the concavely-shaped anterior surface of the protrusive flange.

9. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each power source is a rechargeable battery and each housing has a charging member in an exterior surface thereof.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the on-board circuit board includes a receiver and a transmitter.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an electrode enclosed within the protrusion and in operative electrical communication with one of the on-board circuit boards and one of the power sources, and wherein the protrusion is configured to contact a lingual muscle of the tongue to create forward movement of the tongue and/or a muscle of the mandible selected from the group consisting of lateral pterygoid muscles, medial pterygoid muscles, masseter muscles, and combinations thereof or the trigeminal nerve.

12. The device as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the on-board circuit board is configured to activate the electrode to stimulate a selected muscle to improve the strength thereof.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the selected muscle is operative for speech and/or swallowing.

14. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensor is an airflow sensor and the on-board circuit board is configured to monitor the airflow sensor data for identification of a restriction of airflow and based thereon to adjust the cranial to caudal position of the first driver.

15. The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an electrode enclosed within the protrusion and in operative electrical communication with one of the on-board circuit boards and one of the power sources, and wherein the protrusion is configured to contact one or more muscles effecting speech or effecting swallowing, and sensor data communicated to the on-board circuit board is processed thereby to output instructions to the electrode.

16. A mandibular lingual repositioning system comprising:

a mandibular lingual repositioning device according to claim 1 ; and

a controller station in wireless communication with the mandibular lingual repositioning device while used by a user, the controller station comprising:

a circuit board comprising a microprocessor, a receiver, and a transmitter, wherein the microprocessor comprises nontransitory memory having firmware and learning algorithms stored therein;

wherein the receiver is configured to receive data from the sensor of the mandibular lingual repositioning device, while used by the user, and the microprocessor is configured to process the data and transmit movement instructions to the microprocessors in each of the on-board circuit boards in each housing of the mandibular lingual repositioning device, thereby directing the cranial to caudal adjustments.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the receiver and transmitter of the controller station are configured to communicate with a database of a physician and/or the internet.

18. The system as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the receiver and transmitter of the controller station are configured to communicate with personal electronic communication devices.

19. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller station includes a display screen.

20. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller station includes input and output ports for electrical interconnection to a power source and/or other electronic devices and/or houses a rechargeable battery.

21. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller station comprises a first charging space for the mandibular piece and a second charging space for the maxillary piece.

22. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller station can send instructions to reverse the cranial to caudal movement if a deleterious change is detected from the sensor data.

23. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein data from the sensor is received by the controller and optionally a cloud based server, which are configured to determine a cause and effect medical condition based on the data.

24. The device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the sensor is a vibration sensor and the on-board circuit board or the controller is configured to monitor the vibration sensor data for identification of a snore and based thereon to adjust the cranial to caudal position of the first driver.

25. The device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the sensor is a glucose sensor and the on-board circuit board or the controller is configured to monitor glucose sensor data and based thereon release a medication for sublingual or aerosolized use.

26. The device as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising an external sensor or a sensor attached to the user and in operative communication with the on-board circuit board or the controller.

27. The device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller and/or the on-board circuit board are in operative communication with a software application (App), a cloud server, or an electronic health format (EHR).

28. The device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the microprocessor of the controller has learning algorithms stored in the non-transitory computer readable memory thereof configured to learn a user's sleep patterns, physiological events during sleep or while awake, or pathological events during sleep or while awake, and wherein the microprocessor is configured to create a response, communicate the response to the mandibular lingual repositioning device for implementation.