Who Qualifies for Inspire Therapy?

Inspire therapy is not for everyone with sleep apnea. Inspire requires moderate-severe OSA with AHI 15-65, and your records must show that you could not use CPAP. Your BMI should be 35 or below, and a test called DISE must show that your airway shape will work with Inspire.

Who can get Inspire?

You must meet certain medical rules. These rules help make sure the device will work well for you. Here is what sleep specialists check:

• Age 18 or older — Inspire is for adults.
• Moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — OSA means your airway gets blocked again and again while you sleep. You need an AHI between 15 and 65. AHI is how many times per hour your breathing stops or gets shallow.
• Not able to use CPAP, or CPAP did not help — CPAP is a mask that blows air to keep your airway open. Your records must show that it did not work for you.
• BMI ≤ 35 — BMI is a measure of weight for height. A higher BMI makes Inspire work less well because of extra tissue around the airway.
• Little or no central sleep apnea — In central sleep apnea, your brain does not send the signal to breathe. These pauses should be less than 25% of all your breathing events.
• An airway shape that works for Inspire — This is checked with a test called DISE.

What is the DISE test?

DISE stands for Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy. It is a key step in finding out if you qualify. You get medicine to make you lightly sleepy. Then a doctor passes a small camera through your nose.

The doctor watches how and where your airway closes. Inspire works best when the airway closes from front to back. It does not work as well when the airway closes all the way around, like a ring.

What are the steps to find out if you qualify?

Your sleep specialist will guide you through every step:

1. Specialist visit — A visit with a sleep medicine specialist.
2. Records review — A review of your sleep study results and how CPAP went for you.
3. Health check — A check of your BMI and your health history.
4. DISE test — Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy.
5. Insurance pre-authorization — Your insurance approves it ahead of time.
6. Surgeon visit — A visit with the surgeon.

What may rule you out?

• Central sleep apnea — It is your main sleep problem.
• Higher BMI — BMI significantly above 35.
• Ring-shaped closure — On DISE, your airway closes all the way around, like a ring, at the soft roof of your mouth (the palate).
• Some nerve and muscle diseases — Certain conditions of the nerves and muscles.
• Past nerve surgery — A past surgery that changed the hypoglossal nerve (the nerve that moves your tongue).