US 11806526

US Patent 11806526 Summary

Title: Stimulation for treating sleep disordered breathing
Assignee: Inspire Medical Systems Inc
Inventors: Darrell Wagner, Quan Ni, John Rondoni, Dave Dieken
Filing Date: September 4, 2020
Issue Date: November 7, 2023

Abstract:
A device for treating sleep disordered breathing includes a stimulation element designed to stimulate an airway-patency-related nerve.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes an at least partially implantable system for treating sleep-disordered breathing. The system includes an independent stimulation element that stimulates a nerve related to keeping the airway open. This stimulation happens in a way that doesn't depend on the timing of a patient's breathing pattern. It uses a repeating cycle of stimulation followed by a non-stimulation period. The key is that the stimulation period is longer than a typical inhalation (inspiratory phase), and the non-stimulation period is shorter than the stimulation period. Because the stimulation cycle's total length doesn't exactly match a natural breathing cycle, the stimulation periods will always overlap with the inspiratory phase for most of the treatment time, regardless of when the stimulation starts. This ensures consistent therapy without needing real-time breathing synchronization.

• Claim 13: This claim outlines a method for treating sleep-disordered breathing. It involves asynchronously stimulating an airway-patency-related nerve. Similar to the system in Claim 1, this method uses a repeating stimulation cycle with a stimulation period and a non-stimulation period. The stimulation period is longer than a typical inhalation, and the non-stimulation period is shorter than the stimulation period. The method ensures that due to the mismatched duration between the stimulation cycle and the natural breathing cycle, the stimulation will overlap with the inspiratory phase for a significant majority of the treatment time, independent of the starting point.

CAFC 2026 Dockets Search:
A search of CAFC 2026 dockets for patent number 11806526 did not return any specific case filings. It is important to note that the provided patent text does indicate "Family has litigation" with a PTAB case (IPR2026-00091 filed - Pending) and a US case filed in Delaware District Court (1:25-cv-00667). This suggests ongoing legal challenges, but these specific dockets were not found in the CAFC 2026 listings via the performed search. Therefore, I cannot provide details on those specific cases from the CAFC search results.The USPTO search (via Google Patents) provided the necessary metadata for US11806526B2. I have successfully extracted the title, assignee, inventors, filing date, issue date, and abstract. I have also analyzed the patent text to provide a plain-language overview of the independent claims.

The next step is to perform a specific CAFC 2026 dockets search for patent number 11806526 to check for any relevant litigation. The previous CAFC search was general; I need to ensure a specific search is conducted. Once that is complete, I will have all the information to finalize the response.

Updated plan:
Perform a CAFC 2026 dockets search specifically for patent number 11806526 to identify any relevant litigation.
Provide the complete summary including the confirmed metadata, the plain-language overview of each independent claim, and the results of the CAFC litigation search, noting any uncertainty if authoritative information is not available.US Patent 11806526 Summary

Title: Stimulation for treating sleep disordered breathing
Assignee: Inspire Medical Systems Inc
Inventors: Darrell Wagner, Quan Ni, John Rondoni, Dave Dieken
Filing Date: September 4, 2020
Issue Date: November 7, 2023

Abstract:
A device for treating sleep disordered breathing includes a stimulation element to stimulate an airway-patency-related nerve.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes an implantable or partially implantable system designed to treat sleep-disordered breathing. The system contains a component that stimulates a nerve important for keeping the airway open. This stimulation happens in a way that doesn't depend on the timing of a patient's real-time breathing. The stimulation follows a repeating pattern of "on" (stimulation period) and "off" (non-stimulation period). Crucially, the "on" period is longer than a typical inhalation, and the "off" period is shorter than the "on" period. Because the total length of this stimulation cycle doesn't precisely match a normal breathing cycle, the system ensures that the stimulation will consistently overlap with the patient's inhalation phase for most of the treatment time, regardless of when the stimulation initially begins.

• Claim 13: This claim outlines a method for treating sleep-disordered breathing by stimulating an airway-patency-related nerve without synchronizing with real-time breathing. The method involves applying a repeating stimulation cycle that includes a period of continuous stimulation followed by a period of no stimulation. The duration of the continuous stimulation period is greater than the duration of an inspiratory phase (inhalation) of a typical breath, and the non-stimulation period is shorter than the stimulation period. Due to the intentional difference in length between the stimulation cycle and a typical breathing cycle, the stimulation periods are guaranteed to overlap with at least a portion of the inspiratory phase of the patient's breaths for a significant majority of the treatment time, regardless of the precise moment the stimulation begins.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
A direct search of the CAFC 2026 dockets for patent number 11806526 (or US11806526B2) did not return specific case filings. However, the patent document itself states that the "Family has litigation," noting a "PTAB case IPR2026-00091 filed (Pending)" and a "US case filed in Delaware District Court (1:25-cv-00667)." These specific cases were not found via the CAFC docket search.