Detection appliance and method for observing sleep-related breathing disorders
First Claim
1. A mobile detection appliance configured to record and evaluate data indicative of a respiratory condition of a user, the mobile detection appliance comprising:
- a sensor configured to generate a respiratory flow signal based on at least one of an expiratory gas flow and an inspiratory gas flow received from a patient interface, the respiratory flow signal being indicative of the user'"'"'s respiratory gas flow;
a chest strap having (a) an adjacent surface serving in part as a user-contact surface when worn by the user and (b) a non-adjacent surface that is opposite the user-contact surface;
an electronic data processing unit which comprises a memory device and is configured to process the generated respiratory flow signal and a chest expansion signal generated using the chest strap, said electronic data processing unit being configured to store data that is indicative of a temporal course of the generated signals when the generated signals fulfill a certain criterion; and
a common housing with a port configured to receive said at least one of the expiratory gas flow and the inspiratory gas flow from the patient interface, wherein the common housing houses the sensor and the data processing unit, the common housing being selectively fastenable to the user so that the sensor and the data processing unit are securable as a unit to the user,wherein the common housing comprises a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface, the first exterior surface being opposite the second exterior surface, andwherein the first exterior surface is configured to be in contact with a body of a user when in use, andwherein the second exterior surface is configured to be faced away from the body of the user and to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap so that the adjacent surface lies over the second exterior surface to retain the common housing against the user when in use, andwherein the second exterior surface includes at least one detector, the at least one detector comprising a pressure or force sensor and configured to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap to detect force exerted by the chest strap upon the at least one detector to generate the chest expansion signal when in use.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mobile detection appliance and a method for detecting and evaluating a measuring signal that is indicative of the breathing of a sleeping person are used in connection with the observation of sleep-related breathing disorders. Instruments for detecting signals that are indicative of the breathing of a patient are also used. Solutions that enable an especially reliable examination in terms of the occurrence of sleep-related sleeping disorders, especially in the usual surroundings of the person concerned, are provided. The mobile detection appliance includes a sensor device for detecting a nasal flow signal that is indicative of a nasal respiratory gas flow, and/or a respiratory flow signal that is indicative of an oral respiratory gas flow, in addition to an electronic data processing unit that includes a memory device and processes the respiratory flow signals that are indicative of the temporal course of the nasal and oral respiration. The data processing device stores data that is indicative of the temporal course of the respiratory flow signals.
23 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A mobile detection appliance configured to record and evaluate data indicative of a respiratory condition of a user, the mobile detection appliance comprising:
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a sensor configured to generate a respiratory flow signal based on at least one of an expiratory gas flow and an inspiratory gas flow received from a patient interface, the respiratory flow signal being indicative of the user'"'"'s respiratory gas flow; a chest strap having (a) an adjacent surface serving in part as a user-contact surface when worn by the user and (b) a non-adjacent surface that is opposite the user-contact surface; an electronic data processing unit which comprises a memory device and is configured to process the generated respiratory flow signal and a chest expansion signal generated using the chest strap, said electronic data processing unit being configured to store data that is indicative of a temporal course of the generated signals when the generated signals fulfill a certain criterion; and a common housing with a port configured to receive said at least one of the expiratory gas flow and the inspiratory gas flow from the patient interface, wherein the common housing houses the sensor and the data processing unit, the common housing being selectively fastenable to the user so that the sensor and the data processing unit are securable as a unit to the user, wherein the common housing comprises a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface, the first exterior surface being opposite the second exterior surface, and wherein the first exterior surface is configured to be in contact with a body of a user when in use, and wherein the second exterior surface is configured to be faced away from the body of the user and to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap so that the adjacent surface lies over the second exterior surface to retain the common housing against the user when in use, and wherein the second exterior surface includes at least one detector, the at least one detector comprising a pressure or force sensor and configured to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap to detect force exerted by the chest strap upon the at least one detector to generate the chest expansion signal when in use. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. Method for acquiring and evaluating measurement signals while a user is asleep, the measurement signals being indicative of a respiratory condition of the user, comprising:
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providing a chest expansion monitor for use with a chest strap, the chest strap having (a) an adjacent surface serving in part as a user-contact surface when worn by the user and (b) a non-adjacent surface that is opposite the user-contact surface, (b) a sensor and (c) an electronic data processing unit to the user, wherein the chest expansion monitor, the sensor and the electronic data processing unit are commonly housed within a common housing of a mobile detection appliance so that the chest expansion monitor, the sensor and the electronic data processing unit are securable to the user as a unit; providing at least one of an expiratory gas flow from the user and an inspiratory gas flow from ambient gas to the sensor that is commonly housed within the mobile detection appliance; providing chest expansion signals to the chest expansion monitor, the chest expansion signals being indicative of an expansion of the user'"'"'s chest; generating the measurement signals within the mobile detection appliance based on the chest expansion signals and at least one of the expiratory gas flow and the inspiratory gas flow; generating evaluation characteristics from said measurement signals through use of several analysis systems; and generating at least one evaluation result from a result generation step based thereon in which the evaluation characteristics are subjected to an associative analysis, wherein said measurement signals are acquired by the data processing unit in a course of a signal acquisition phase preceding the associative analysis and stored when they fulfill a certain criterion, wherein the common housing comprises a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface, the first exterior surface being opposite the second exterior surface, and wherein the first exterior surface is configured to be in contact with a body of a user when in use, and wherein the second exterior surface is configured to be faced away from the body of the user and to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap so that the adjacent surface lies over the second exterior surface to retain the common housing against the user when in use, and wherein the second exterior surface includes at least one detector, the at least one detector comprising a pressure or force sensor and configured to be in contact with the adjacent surface of the chest strap to detect force exerted by the chest strap upon the at least one detector to generate the chest expansion signal when in use. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification