Apparatus and method for diagnosing sleep apnea
First Claim
1. An apparatus for diagnosing sleep apnea, which detects a temporary cessation of breathing while a subject is sleeping by applying light to and processing light output from a predetermined part of a subject'"'"'s body, the apparatus comprising:
- a light source unit for sequentially generating a first light signal of a first wavelength and a second light signal of a second wavelength according to a predetermined control signal, the first wavelength and the second wavelength being different;
a photodetecting unit for detecting the first and second light signals output by the light source unit and then applied to the predetermined part of the subject'"'"'s body, and for converting the detected first and second light signals into first and second electric signals;
a diagnosis unit for substantially removing a time delay between the first and second electric signals output from the photodetecting unit, for calculating a ratio between the first and second electric signals, and for comparing the ratio with a predetermined reference value to diagnose sleep apnea; and
a controller for outputting the predetermined control signal to the light source unit to generate the first and second light signals, and for providing the predetermined reference value to the diagnosis unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for diagnosing sleep apnea, which detects a temporary cessation of breathing during sleep by applying light to a part of a subject'"'"'s body and processing light output therefrom, includes a light source unit for sequentially generating light of at least two different wavelengths according to a control signal, a photodetecting unit for detecting the light, which are generated by the light source unit and applied to the body part, and for converting the detected light signals into electric signals, a diagnosis unit for substantially removing a time delay between the electric signals output from the photodetecting unit, for calculating a ratio between the electric signals, and for comparing the ratio with a predetermined reference value to diagnose sleep apnea, and a controller for outputting the control signal to the light source unit to generate the light signals, and for providing the predetermined reference value to the diagnosis unit.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus for diagnosing sleep apnea, which detects a temporary cessation of breathing while a subject is sleeping by applying light to and processing light output from a predetermined part of a subject'"'"'s body, the apparatus comprising:
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a light source unit for sequentially generating a first light signal of a first wavelength and a second light signal of a second wavelength according to a predetermined control signal, the first wavelength and the second wavelength being different;
a photodetecting unit for detecting the first and second light signals output by the light source unit and then applied to the predetermined part of the subject'"'"'s body, and for converting the detected first and second light signals into first and second electric signals;
a diagnosis unit for substantially removing a time delay between the first and second electric signals output from the photodetecting unit, for calculating a ratio between the first and second electric signals, and for comparing the ratio with a predetermined reference value to diagnose sleep apnea; and
a controller for outputting the predetermined control signal to the light source unit to generate the first and second light signals, and for providing the predetermined reference value to the diagnosis unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of diagnosing sleep apnea, which detects a temporary cessation of breathing while a subject is sleeping by applying light to and processing light output from a predetermined part of the subject'"'"'s body, the method comprising:
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(a) sequentially generating a first light signal of a first wavelength and a second light signal of a second wavelength, the first wavelength and the second wavelength being difference;
(b) applying the first and second light signals to the predetermined part of the subject'"'"'s body;
(c) detecting the first and second light signals from the predetermined part and converting the first and second light signals into first and second electric signals;
(d) sampling the converted first and second electric signals and respectively delaying the sampled first and second electric signals to substantially remove a time difference between the sampled first and second electric signals; and
(e) calculating a ratio of the first and second electric signals and comparing the calculated ratio with a predetermined reference value to determine the presence or absence of sleep apnea. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification