WO2016090627A1

WO2016090627A1 - Mandible protracting device

Info

Publication number: WO2016090627A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/093679
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cho-chi YANG; Chung-Ji Liu
Original assignee: Yang Cho-Chi; Chung-Ji Liu
Priority date: 2014-12-12
Filing date: 2014-12-12
Publication date: 2016-06-16

Abstract

A mandible protracting device (100) includes a tubular body (110) having a front and a rear openings, a first baffle plate (120), a second baffle plate (130), a first pair of flanges (140A, 140B) and a second pair of flanges (150A, 150B).The first baffle plate (120) and the second baffle plate (130) are respectively connected to the tubular body (110) approximating the front opening of the tubular body (110), wherein the first baffle plate (120) form a first angle A at least 100 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body (110). Moreover, the first pair of flanges (140A, 140B) and the second pair of flanges (150A, 150B) are respectively connected to the tubular body (110), wherein the first pair of flanges (140A, 140B) approximates the rear opening of the tubular body (110). The first and second pairs of flanges (140A, 140B, 150A, 150B) cooperatively form an upper and lower teeth groove (162, 164), in which the lower teeth groove (164) is disposed relatively forward the front opening of the tubular body (110), so that the mandible of a subject is protracted during the medical procedure.

Description

MANDIBLE PROTRACTING DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure in general relates to a dental device. More particularly, the disclosed invention relates to a mandible protracting device for keeping the pharyngeal airway of a subject ventilated during a medical procedure.

2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

As the conscious sedation for gastroscopy is getting popular, intravenous anesthetic techniques are now wildly applied in the upper gastroscopy and related treatments. Moreover, the intravenous anesthesia has gradually replaced the general anesthesia used in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. The intravenous anesthesia is also used in bronchoscopy and tumor ablation for liver cancer. Compared with the general anesthesia, not only can the intravenous anesthesia ameliorate the discomfort of the subject, but it can also reduce the risk of associated complications.

In clinical setting, the application of intravenous anesthesia in the upper gastroscopy, bronchoscopy and related treatments is still laden with problems, such as breathing difficulties. In addition to physiological monitoring as well as medicine and equipment backups, the subject’s spontaneous breathing and respiratory track patency are the vital factors for maintaining the life of the subject during the surgery, as well as for providing smooth process for the procedure.

In particular, obese subjects or subjects with sleep apnea are the high-risk groups for the intravenous anesthesia. These subjects tend to experience breathing difficulties (e.g. carbon dioxide retention, apnea and hypoventilation) during the anesthesia. For the subject with the cardiovascular related disorder, the breathing problems might cause the catastrophic cardiac injuries. Furthermore, even without the aforementioned complications, the occurrence of apnea or carbon dioxide retention would adversely affect the surgery or even interrupt the progression of the surgery, causing the subject suffering from unnecessary pain and discomfort.

In most cases, the apnea or hypoventilation occurred during the intravenous anesthesia of the subject is resulted from the obstruction of the upper respiratory tract, rather than the excessive anesthetic depth, for once the subject was treated with mandible protraction, the relevant problems would often automatically ease or resolve. However, an additional medical personnel is required to monitor the subject's condition and perform the mandible protraction, which inevitably increases the cost.

In view of the foregoing, there exists in the related art a need of an improved mandible protracting device, which may address the aforementioned problems in the clinical field.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the present invention or delineate the scope of the present invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

To address the aforementioned problems, this disclosure provides a mandible protracting device. The mandible protracting device is configured to protract the mandible of the subject and maintain it in position, and keep the subject’s respiratory track ventilated during a medical procedure. Therefore, the present mandible protracting device would resolve the inconvenience conventionally experienced during the medical procedure (e.g. endoscopy or treatment) .

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a mandible protracting device. The mandible protracting device includes a tubular body having a front and a rear openings, a first baffle plate, a second baffle plate, a first pair of flanges, and a second pair of flanges. The first baffle plate is connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening and forms a first angle at least 100 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body, and is configured to press against the upper lip of the subject during the medical procedure. The second baffle plate is connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening, and is configured to press against the lower lip of the subject during the medical procedure. The first pair of flanges are connected to the tubular body approximating the rear opening of the tubular body. The second pair of flanges are also connected to the tubular body. Moreover, the first and second pairs of flanges cooperatively form an upper teeth groove and a lower teeth groove for respectively receiving the upper and lower teeth rows of the subject, in which the upper and lower teeth grooves are respectively disposed relatively approximating the rear and the front openings, so that the mandible of the subject is protracted during the medical procedure.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first and second pairs of flanges are spaced apart by at least 8 mm.

In one embodiment, the first angle between the first baffle plate and the longitudinal direction of the tubular body is 110 degrees. Still optionally, the second baffle plate forms a second angle no more than 90 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body. In one specific embodiment, the second angle is 90 degrees.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the mandible protracting device further comprises two tabs respectively disposed at opposite sides of the first baffle plate for coupling with a strap to secure the mandible protracting device in place during the medical procedure. For example, the strap that can be used with the present mandible protracting device may be a commercial product that is widely used in clinical area.

In one embodiment, the mandible protracting device further comprises two holes disposed at opposite sides of the first baffle plate.

According to optional embodiments, the mandible protracting device is made from metal, plastic or biodegradable materials. Optionally, the mandible protracting device is a one-piece article.

Many of the attendant features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomes better understood with reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present description will be better understood from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1A is a schematic drawing of a mandible protracting device 100 in accordance with one embodiment of this invention；

FIG. 1B is a rear view of the mandible protracting device 100 of FIG. 1A；

FIG. 1C is a sectional view of the mandible protracting device 100 taken along the line 1C-1C’ of FIG. 1A；

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of a mandible protracting device 200 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention；

FIG. 3A is a schematic drawing of a mandible protracting device 300 in accordance with still another embodiment of this invention；

FIG. 3B is a rear view of the mandible protracting device 300 of FIG. 3A； and

FIG. 4 provides X-ray photographs of one working example of the present disclosure, which illustrate the effects of mandible protraction achieved by the conventional oral bite and the mandible protracting device according to one embodiment of this invention.

In accordance with common practice, the various described features/elements are not drawn to scale but instead are drawn to best illustrate specific features/elements relevant to the present invention. Also, like reference numerals and designations in the various drawings are used to indicate like elements/parts.

DESCRIPTION

The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.

For convenience, certain terms employed in the specification, examples and appended claims are collected here. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of the ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Unless otherwise defined herein, scientific and technical terminologies employed in the present disclosure shall have the meanings that are commonly understood and used by one of ordinary skill in the art. Unless otherwise required by context, it will be understood that singular terms shall include plural forms of the same and plural terms shall include the singular. Specifically, as used herein and in the claims, the singular forms “a” and “an” include the plural reference unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Also, as used herein and in the claims, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” have the same meaning and include one, two, three, or more.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in the respective testing measurements.

Also, as used herein, the term “about” generally means within 10％, 5％, 1％, or 0.5％ of a given value or range. Alternatively, the term “about” means within an acceptable standard error of the mean when considered by one of ordinary skill in the art. Other than in the operating/working examples, or unless otherwise expressly specified, all of the numerical ranges, amounts, values and percentages such as those for quantities of materials, durations of times, temperatures, operating conditions, ratios of amounts, and the likes thereof disclosed herein should be understood as modified in all instances by the term “about. ” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the present disclosure and attached claims are approximations that can vary as desired. At the very least, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

As used herein, the term “strap” refers to an element which is flexible or elastic in nature. Preferably, the strap is made from plastic (e.g. rubber) or fiber (e.g., fabric) . In one embodiment, the strap is a commercial product wildly used in the clinical setting.

The term “medical procedure” refers to examination and/or treatment procedures commonly used in the medical field, in which the pharyngeal airway of a subject receiving such procedure needs to remain ventilated throughout the procedure. In one embodiment, the examination procedure refers to the procedure that involves the use of an endoscopy. The treatment procedures may be a procedure that involves treatment or surgery.

The terms “subject” and “patient” are used interchangeably herein and refer to a mammal that is treatable with a mandible protracting device of the present invention. The term “subject” is intended to refer to both the male and female gender unless one gender is specifically indicated. Preferably, the subject suitable to be treated by the device provided herein is the human species.

As employed herein, the statement that two or more elements or parts are “connected” or “coupled” together is meant that the elements or parts are joined together either directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate parts.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a novel mandible protracting device to address the problem associated with the obstruction of the subject’s pharyngeal airway (or upper respiratory tract) during a medical procedure. The present mandible protracting device is capable of adjusting the positions of maxilla and mandible of the subject, and protracting the mandible to keep the pharyngeal airway ventilated during a medical procedure, especially when the subject is under anesthetization.

The present mandible protracting device includes in structure, a tubular body having a front and a rear openings, a first and a second baffle plates respectively connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening； a first pair of flanges respectively connected to the tubular body approximating the rear opening； and a second pair of flanges respectively connected to the tubular body, and are disposed between the first pair of flanges and the first and second baffle plates. The first baffle plate is connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening and forms a first angle at least 100 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body and is configured to press against the upper lip of the subject during the medical procedure. The second baffle plate is connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening, and is configured to press against the lower lip of the subject during the medical procedure. Moreover, the first and second pairs of flanges cooperatively form an upper and a lower teeth groove for respectively accommodating the upper and lower rows of teeth of the subject, in which the lower teeth groove is disposed relatively toward the front opening of the tubular body, while the upper teeth groove is disposed relatively toward the rear opening of the tubular body, so that the mandible of the subject is protracted during the medical procedure.

One of the features of the present mandible protracting device is that the positions of the upper and lower teeth grooves are asymmetrical； in particular, the lower teeth groove is disposed relatively toward the front opening of present mandible protracting device. During operation, when the subject bites the present mandible protracting device, the relative positions of the upper teeth groove and lower teeth groove would render the mandible of the subject protracted forwardly, that is, toward the physician standing in front of the test subject. Another feature of the present mandible protracting device is that the first angle between the first baffle plate and the longitudinal direction of the tubular body, wherein the first angle is at least 100 degrees. With the specified first angle, the present mandible protracting device may secure the maxilla of the subject in position and maintain the subject at the mandible-protracted posture for a longer period of time so that the pharyngeal airway is kept ventilated.

The detailed structure of the mandible protracting device 100 in accordance with one embodiment of this invention is discussed below in connection with FIGs. 1A to 1C. FIGs. 1A and 1B are respective schematic drawings of the front and rear views of the mandible protracting device 100； and FIG. 1C is a sectional view of the mandible protracting device 100 taken along the line 1C-1C’ of FIG. 1A.

Structurally, the mandible protracting device 100 includes a tubular body 110, a first baffle plate 120, a second baffle plate 130, a first pair of

flanges

140A and 140B, and a second pair of

flanges

150A and 150B.

For the sake of discussion, in FIG. 1B, the tubular body 110 is partitioned into the upper and lower portions by a virtual horizontal plane A along the central axis of the tubular body 110. Referring to FIG. 1B, the outer surface of the tubular body 110 that is above the virtual horizontal plane A is denoted as “the upper surface, ” whereas the outer surface of the tubular body 110 that is below the virtual horizontal plane A is denoted as “the lower surface. ” It should be noted that the above-mentioned compartmentalization of the mandible protracting device 100 is provided to facilitate the description and understanding of the structure of the present mandible protracting device, and hence, in reality, there is no distinct physical boundaries separating the upper and lower surfaces of the present mandible protracting device. Accordingly, the virtual horizontal plane A should not be considered as a limitation of the claimed invention, and as could be appreciated by persons having ordinary skill in the art, the upper and lower portions/surfaces of the tubular body 110 could be defined by other means, such as another virtual horizontal plane that is not along the central axis of the tubular body 110 or a virtual plane that is not arranged horizontally.

As illustrated in FIG. 1C, the tubular body 110 has a front and a rear opening respectively denoted as F and R. The first baffle plate 120 is connected to the upper surface approximating the front opening F of the tubular body 110, and forms a first angle A with respect to the longitudinal direction L of the tubular body 110； whereas the second baffle plate 130 is connected to the lower surface approximating the front opening F of the tubular body 110 and forms a second angle B with respect to the longitudinal direction L of the tubular body 110. According to embodiments of the present invention, the first and second angles (A, B) are different； preferably, the first angle A is greater than the second angle B. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first angle A is preferably at least 100 degrees, whereas the second angle B is no more than 90 degrees. For example, the first angle A is at least about 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130 degrees or above； and the second angle B is at most 90 , 89 , 88 , 87 , 86 , 85 , 84 , 83 , 82 , 81 , 80 , 79 , 78 , 77 , 76, 75 degrees or less. In a preferred embodiment, the first angle A is 110 degrees, and the second angle B is 90 degrees.

The first baffle plate 120 and second baffle plate 130 are respectively configured to press against the upper and lower lips of the subject during a medical procedure so as to engage and adjust the position of the mandible protracting device 100 in the mouth of the subject. In addition, the first and

second baffle plates

120 and 130 are designed structurally to protect the mouth of the subject from being damage during the medical procedures； such as the procedure that involves inserting a medical instrument or endoscope down through the mouth and throat and into the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Still referring to FIG. 1C, In this embodiment, the

flanges

140A and 140B of the first pair of flanges are respectively connected to the upper and lower surface approximating the rear openings R of the tubular body 110； whereas the

flanges

150A and 150B of the second pair of flanges are respectively disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the tubular body 110, and between the first pair of

flanges

140A and 140B and the first and

second baffle plates

120 and 130. Functionally, one of the first flanges and its corresponding second flange cooperatively forms a teeth groove for receiving one row of teeth of the subject. Specifically, the flange 140A and the flange 150A cooperatively form an upper teeth groove162, while the flange 140B and the flange 150B cooperatively define a lower teeth groove164. The upper and the

lower teeth grooves

162 and 164 may respectively receive the upper and lower rows of teeth of the subject.

Structurally, the upper teeth groove 162 is configured to be relatively toward the rear opening R of the tubular body 110, whereas the lower teeth groove 164 is configured to be relatively toward the front opening F of the tubular body 110； thus the upper and lower rows of teeth receiving therein will be spaced apart by at least 2 mm through the action of the present mandible protracting device 100. For elaborating purpose, two virtual lines, S1 and S2, respectively denote the positions of the

flanges

150B and 150A, are provided in FIG. 1C to help illustrating the relative positons of the upper and

lower teeth grooves

162, 164. Using the longitudinal direction L as a reference line, the S1 line, which denotes the position of the second flange 150B, is disposed relatively close to the front opening F of the tubular body 110 than that of the second flange 150A, whose positon is denoted by S2 line and is relatively toward the rear opening R of the tubular body 110. In one embodiment, the lower teeth groove 164 precedes the upper teeth groove 162, along the reference line L, by about≦10 mm (i.e. the distance between S1 and S2) , such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10mm. Preferably, said distance is about 1-5 mm, such as 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 mm. More preferably, said distance is about 1-3 mm, such as 1, 2 or 3 mm.

Using the longitudinal direction of the tubular body as a reference, each of the upper and lower teeth grooves (162, 164) has a length of about 5-10 mm, such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10mm. Preferably, the length is about 7-9 mm, such as 7, 8 or 9 mm. More preferably, the length is about 8 mm. As could be appreciated, the length of the upper teeth groove 162 is the distance between the flange 140A and the flange 150A, while the length of the lower teeth groove 164 is the distance between the flange 140B and the flange 150B.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of a mandible protracting device 200 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. The mandible protracting device 200 of this embodiment is similar to the mandible protracting device 100 in FIG. 1, and hence, only the different elements/parts are described herein below for the sake of brevity.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the mandible protracting device 200 differs from the mandible protracting device 100 in FIG. 1 in that additional fastening elements that help securing the mandible protracting device 200 in place during use are depicted.

Specifically, the mandible protracting device 200 includes two

tabs

270A and 270B, respectively disposed at two opposite sides of the first baffle plate 220. During use, the

tabs

270A and 270B are configured to secure a strap 280, which is provided for the user to wear and secure the present mandible protracting device in place during the medical procedure. According to various embodiment of the present disclosure, the tab may have various shapes, which includes but are not limited to, T-shape, C-shape, and U-shape. Of course, the above-mentioned various shapes of the tab are provided for the purpose of illustration and various other modifications may be achieved by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the

tabs

270A and 270B are respectively T-shapes. The two ends of the strap 280 are respectively connected to the two

tabs

270A and 270B, and hence, the mandible protracting device 200 can be worn on the head of the subject to firmly position the mandible protracting device 200 in the mouth of the subject.

In general, with the aid of the strap 280, the mandible protracting device 200 is firmly positioned in the mouth of the subject, thus achieve the purpose of keeping the pharyngeal airway of the subject, especially the one that is unconscious due to intravenous anesthesia, ventilated and free from damage caused by any device inserted there through. The muscles of the subject who is unconsciousness tend to relax, and the soft tissue lying at the back of the subject throat may collapse into the airway thereby causing the airway obstruction, which in turn leads to reduced blood oxygen saturation and hypoventilation. Since the mandible protracting device 200, when coupled with the strap 280, can keep the pharyngeal airway of the subject ventilated, thus may reduce the risk of airway obstruction.

In one optional embodiment, the mandible protracting device 200 of FIG. 2 further comprises two

holes

290A and 290B, respectively disposed on opposite sides of the first baffle plate 220. The

holes

290A and 290B are designed to facilitate the retrieval of the mandible protracting device 200 from the subject’s mouth after use. Furthermore, the design of the two

holes

290A and 290B on the first baffle plate 220 may further ameliorate the discomfort caused by the first baffle plate 220 pressing against the skin of the subject during use.

FIG. 3A and 3B are schematic drawings of a mandible protracting device 300 in accordance with still another embodiment of this invention. The mandible protracting device 300 comprises a tubular body 310 having a front and a rear opening, and an upper and a lower surface； a first baffle plate 320； a second baffle plate 330； a first pair of

flanges

340A and 340B； and a second pair of

flanges

350A and 350B. It should be noted that the structural connections of the first baffle plate 320, the second baffle plate 330, the first pairs of

flanges

340A and 340B, and the second pair of

flanges

350A and 350B to the tubular body 310 are slightly different from those depicted in FIG 1.

Reference is now made to FIGs. 3A and 3B, the first baffle and

second baffle plates

320 and 330 are respectively connected to just a portion of the upper surface and lower surface of the tubular body 310 approximating the front opening. In other words, the first and

second baffle plates

320 and 330 do not encircle the entire peripheral of the tubular body 310.

The

flanges

340A and 340B of the first pair of flanges are respectively connected to the upper and lower surface of the tubular body 310 approximating the rear opening, yet without completely encircling the rear opening. Similarly, the

flanges

350A and 350B of the second pair of flanges are respectively connected to the upper and lower surfaces of the tubular body 310 without completely encircling the tubular body 310, and are disposed between the first pair of

flanges

340A and 340B and the first and

second baffle plates

320 and 330.

According to optional embodiments, the sizes of the first and

second baffle plates

320 and 330, and the first and second pairs of

flanges

340A, 340B, 350A, and 350B can be varied by those with ordinary skill in the art depending on actual needs.

Similarly, according to other optional embodiments, the diameter and the shape of the tubular body of the present mandible protracting device may be modified based on the practical applications of the mandible protraction device. For example, the tubular body may be cylindrical or square cylindrical in shape. Of course, other modifications may be made by those with ordinary skill in the art.

In one embodiment, the present mandible protracting device is made as a one-piece article from metal, plastic or biodegradable materials. For example, the mandible protracting device can be made by extrusion or injection molding. To eliminate the possibility of cross-contamination during a surgery, the mandible protracting device is preferably made as a disposable device.

The following Example is provided to elucidate certain aspects of the present invention and to aid those of skilled in the art in practicing this invention. This Example is in no way to be considered to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can, based on the description herein, utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. All publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

To investigate the mandible protracting efficacy of the present mandible protracting device, volunteer adult subjects were recruited and randomly assigned to wear a conventional oral bite (Endoflex 600010) or the present mandible protracting device. X-ray radiographs from the test subjects were taken and analyzed.

Results from one specific subject before and after wearing the conventional oral bit or the present mandible protracting device are depicted in FIG 4. In the case when the subject wore the conventional oral bite, the subject’s mandible was protracted by about 2.73 mm from the maxilla. In contrast, when the same subject wore the present mandible protracting device, the subject’s mandible was protracted by about 6.30 mm from the maxilla. Comparing the protracting results of the conventional oral bite and the present mandible protracting device, it is found that the mandible protracting effect rendered by the present mandible protracting device is at least 2.31-folds to the conventional oral bite. The results confirmed that the mandible protracting device of present invention may provide a prominent mandible-protracting effect as compared with that of a conventional oral bite

t will be understood that the above description of embodiments is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those with ordinary skill in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those with ordinary skill in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

Claims

A mandible protracting device for help maintaining the pharyngeal airway of a subject ventilated during a medical procedure, comprising:

a tubular body having a front and a rear openings；

a first baffle plate connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening and forms a first angle at least 100 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body, and is configured to press against the upper lip of the subject during the medical procedure；

a second baffle plate connected to the tubular body approximating the front opening, and is configured to press against the lower lip of the subject during the medical procedure；

a first pair of flanges respectively connected to the tubular body approximating the rear opening； and

a second pair of flanges respectively connected to the tubular body；

wherein,

the first and second pairs of flanges cooperatively form an upper and lower teeth grooves for respectively receiving the upper and lower rows of teeth of the subject, in which the upper and lower teeth grooves are disposed at positions respectively approximating the rear and front openings, so that the mandible of the subject is protracted during the medical procedure.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the first and second pairs of flanges are spaced apart by at least 8 mm.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the first angle is 110 degrees.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the second baffle plate forms a second angle no more than 90 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the tubular body.
The mandible protracting device of claim 4, wherein the second angle is 90 degrees.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the first and second pairs of flanges are respectively connected to and surround the tubular body.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, further comprising two tabs, respectively disposed at opposite sides of the first baffle plate for coupling with a strap to secure the mandible protracting device in place during the medical procedure.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, further comprising two holes respectively disposed at opposite sides of the first baffle plate.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the mandible protracting device is made from metal, plastic or biodegradable material.
The mandible protracting device of claim 1, wherein the mandible protracting device is a one-piece article.