PGI mulls getting tongue pacemakers

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 30

The PGI is likely to acquire tongue pacemaker technology for sleep apnoea patients.

The pacemaker is for patients who can’t tolerate a mask. Like a heart pacemaker, the tongue pacemaker is inserted just under the collarbone 

of the patient to check pauses in breathing 

during sleep, thus, preventing snoring.

“The tongue pacemaker has not yet been launched in Asia. We are speaking with a firm which supplies it. The tongue pacemaker is required in India, especially in North India, as a large number of people are suffering from sleep apnoea,” said Dr Sandeep Bansal from the ENT Department, PGI.

“In Europe and North America, the use of tongue pacemakers is quite prevalent. It costs 22, 000 US dollars. The cost may come down in the near future. It takes two hours to be implanted. In Germany, the technology helps cure 1,000 patients every year. One needs to change its battery after 10 or 15 years,” said Clemens Heiser from government-run University Hospital in Munich. 

70 cases of sleep aponea in 2018

• Doctors at the PGI said they received 70 cases of obstructive sleep aponea (OSA) cases last year. 
• The OSA may lead to silent heart attack, uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure problems or morning headache. The chances of occurrence in obese people are much higher.