Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Influent Medical’s sleep apnea treatment acquired

By Mass High Tech staff

The treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, developed by Concord, N.H.-based Influent Medical LLC, has been bought by Medtronic Inc., a developer of chronic disease treatments in Minneapolis.

Influent’s Repose Genioglossus Advancement and Hyoid Advancement (GAHA) product is designed to prevent air blockage when people sleep by advancing “the base of the tongue and the hyoid bone,” company officials said in a statement.

Influent’s device will add to Medtronic’s surgical technologies business, which includes its own Pillar Palatal Implant System to treat sleep breathing disorders.

Influent Medical develops surgical devices for two surgical procedures of obstructive sleep apnea. In addition to its headquarters in New Hampshire, the company maintains offices in California and Louisiana, and has its European headquarters in Vienna, Austria.