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Do you live with a snorer? Pi Medical of St Paul, Minnesota, may be able to
help (GB 2355936). The soft palate in the mouth keeps food out of our noses and
regulates airflow through the nose while we talk. But for one person in five, it
flaps and vibrates with every sleeping breath. Surgically trimming the soft
palate is painful and irreversible—and it isn’t always a permanent cure.
Pi’s treatment is to cut open the palate and insert plastic-coated titanium
spheres. This increases the mass of the palate and damps its vibration. If
necessary, more balls can be added, to tune the damping to the patient. And the
op is reversible.