Want to stop snoring? Try a throat magnet

AMAGNETIC collar worn around the neck could be a permanent solution to snoring, according to experts.

The device sits above a second magnet implanted in the hyoid – the horseshoe-shaped bone in the throat – and when the collar is worn during sleep, the power of the two magnets keeps the airways open.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a common disorder thought to affect 1.5million Britons. It causes the tissue in the throat to relax and collapse during sleep, which disrupts breathing and causes snoring.

The pauses in breathing, called apnoeas, can happen hundreds of times a night in severe cases. In addition to affecting quality of life, OSA can increase the risk of people developing high blood pressure, or having a stroke or heart attack, as the sudden drops in oxygen supply to the blood puts a strain on the cardiovascular system.

Lifestyle changes, including using so-called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, which deliver a constant supply of air through a mask during sleep to keep the airway open, are widely used.

But many people – up to half in some studies – have difficulty wearing the devices, with discomfort, claustrophobia, skin irritation and pump noise among the main complaints.

The new treatment uses magnets to stop the soft tissue in the throat collapsing during sleep, a method that has been used to correct sunken chest or pectus excavatum, a congenital condition where several ribs and the sternum grow abnormally, producing a concave chest.

The type of magnet used – neodymium rare-earth magnets – are the strongest types available commercially.

Larger versions are used in wind turbine generators and hybrid and electric car motors.

The new treatment, called the Magnap system, has two neodymium magnets, one of which is implanted in the hyoid bone, which is located between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. It is the only bone in the throat and the only one in the body not connected to another.

Found only in humans and Neanderthals, it is surrounded by small muscles and soft tissue and plays a crucial role in speech and swallowing.

Once the small titanium-encased magnet has been implanted through a small incision in the neck, the patient is then equipped with a removable external collar.

This is custom-made for the patient and is worn at the front of the neck. It contains a second neodymium magnet which pulls the internal magnet on the hyoid bone forward by one centimetre, which is sufficient force to open the upper airway and significantly improve airflow.

The first US patients have been implanted with the device, and the trial is expected to last until the end of the year.

Professor Jaydip Ray, Clinical Director and Ear Nose and Throat Consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Sheffield Children’s Hospital, said: ‘It is an interesting concept. It is an attempt to control snoring and sleep apnoea through minimally invasive measures.

‘The technique is novel yet simple. The only restriction is the inability to have MRI scans due to the implanted magnet. Long-term results will be interesting.’