SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DETECTING SLEEP DISORDERS
First Claim
1. A device for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
- a housing insertable into an ear canal of a subject;
a sensor disposed within the housing and configured to measure a position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity;
a transducer responsive to the sensor for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for detecting sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, includes a housing insertable into an ear canal of a subject. A sensor disposed within the housing measures a position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity. A transducer is responsive to the sensor and is capable of creating a stimulus detectable by the subject under certain conditions. In various embodiments, a controller receives signals corresponding to a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head measured by the sensor, determines if the pitch and roll angles correspond to a sleep apnea inducing position, and causes the transducer to generate a stimulus upon determining that the subject'"'"'s head is in the sleep apnea inducing position more than a predetermined threshold number of times. Various parameters of the stimulus may be modified with successive stimulus generation until a non-sleep apnea inducing position is detected.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A device for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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a housing insertable into an ear canal of a subject; a sensor disposed within the housing and configured to measure a position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; a transducer responsive to the sensor for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A device for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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a housing; a gravitational sensor disposed within the housing and configured to generate signals corresponding to a measurement of a position of a subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; and a transducer responsive to the signals generated by the gravitational sensor and configured to create stimulus detectable by the subject. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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a) measuring with a sensor, a position of a subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; b) modifying a flag count if the subject'"'"'s head is in a sleep apnea inducing position based on a measurements from the sensor; C) repeating a)-b); and c) alerting the subject with stimulus when the flag count at least equals a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A device for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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a housing insertable into the ear canal of a subject; a sleep apnea detection circuit disposed within the housing comprising a sensor configured to measure a pitch angle relative to an axis of gravity and a roll angle relative to a horizontal axis orthogonal to the axis of gravity, and a controller configured to determine whether the subject is in a sleep apnea inducing position based on the pitch angle and the roll angle; and a transducer responsive to the controller for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A system for detecting and treating sleep disorders comprising:
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A) a housing; B) a dual-axis inclinometer disposed within the housing capable of measuring a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; C) circuitry configured to; receive signals from the gravitational sensor corresponding to the position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to the axis of gravity, determine a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head relative to the axis of gravity, compare the determined pitch angle and roll angle to a predefined range of threshold pitch angles and predefined range of threshold roll angles, and cause the transducer to generate the stimulus if the determined pitch angle and roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head lies within the predefined range of threshold pitch angles and the predefined range of threshold roll angles; and D) a transducer responsive to the sensor for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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23. A sleep apnea detection apparatus comprising:
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a sensor attachable to a subject'"'"'s head for detecting an angular position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; and a transducer responsive to the sensor for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject.
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24. A method for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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a) estimating the percentage of closure of a subject'"'"'s airway from the angular position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity; and b) causing a transducer to generate stimulus if the position of the subject'"'"'s head lies within the predefined range of positions determined to cause a sleep disorder.
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26. A method for detecting sleep disorders comprising:
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A) providing a system comprising; i) a housing insertable into the ear canal of a subject, ii) a sensor disposed within the housing and capable of measuring a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head relative to an axis of gravity, iii) a controller responsive to signals from the sensor, and iv) a transducer responsive to the sensor for creating a stimulus detectable by the subject; B) receiving signals from the sensor corresponding to the position of the subject'"'"'s head relative to the axis of gravity, C) determining a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head relative to the axis of gravity, D) comparing the determined pitch angle and roll angle to a predefined range of threshold pitch angles and predefined range of threshold roll angles, E) modifying a flag count if the determined pitch angle and roll angle of the subject'"'"'s head lies within the predefined range of threshold pitch angles and the predefined range of threshold roll angles, F) determining if the flag count at least equals a predefined threshold, G) upon determining that the flag count at least equals the predefined threshold flag count, causing the transducer to generate stimulus, and H) repeat B)-G) after a predefined time interval. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification