This article is taken from the monthly magazine Sciences et Avenir n°949, dated March 2026.
This is the first therapeutic alternative in fifteen years to the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS): the Inspire neurostimulation implant. With its smooth, silver casing, it looks exactly like a pacemaker. But here, it has nothing to do with the heart. Its purpose is to act during sleep by stimulating a nerve (the hypoglossal nerve), which causes certain muscles in the tongue to contract, pulling it forward and keeping the airways open so that air can flow.
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