Abstract: An oral appliance and method for treating a sleep disorder in a subject are disclosed. The appliance includes, among other elements, a palatal overlay element that engages a portion of the dorsal surface of the subject's tongue, stabilizing the tongue in a superior direction toward the hard palate. The method generally involves stabilizing the dorsal surface of a subject's tongue in a superior direction toward the subject's hard palate.

Abstract: Minimally invasive systems and methods are provided for diagnosing conditions in target lung compartments. Using catheters capable of isolating the target lung compartments and measuring one or more of collateral ventilation, pressure, flow rate, and volume, conditions such as hyperinflation, compliance, gas exchange including oxygen uptake, directionality of collateral channels, blood flow, and blood flow per unit lung volume may be assessed.

Abstract: A radioactive material such as an unstable isotopic gas is provided to a receiving chamber (1) directly from a source to form a purified or enriched bubble. The bubble is passed to a fluid handling set for preparation of the reagent or other delivery system. In an exemplary embodiment trace amounts of nitrogen-13 are concentrated in a receiving chamber and passed into a small bubble of carrier gas. The carrier gas is then delivered into a fluid handling set. The fluid handling set connects to a pressure syringe (50) and a passive syringe (60), and further includes a plurality of flushable valves (22-27) interconnected as a closed unit by tubing (21) to form a switchable or finite state flow network in which the pressure syringe may back flush the tubing, mix the isotope in a delivery liquid, and transfer the mixed liquid to an output for diagnostic imaging or other use.