Method of analyzing sleep disorders
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
- monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject;
digitizing the monitored sound at a sampling rate sufficiently high and for periods of sufficient duration to capture apnea and snoring information;
recording at least a portion of the digitized monitored sound;
identifying at least one of snoring and apnea within the recorded sound; and
analyzing the identified snoring and/or apnea to locate upper airway structural sources generating the snoring and/or the apnea.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a method of detecting, analyzing sleep disorders. The method includes the step of monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject through a sensor proximate the sleeping subject and continuously recording the monitored sound. The method further includes identifying snoring within the recorded sound and analyzing the identified snoring to localize upper airway structural sources of snoring.
95 Citations
44 Claims
-
1. A method of detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject; digitizing the monitored sound at a sampling rate sufficiently high and for periods of sufficient duration to capture apnea and snoring information; recording at least a portion of the digitized monitored sound; identifying at least one of snoring and apnea within the recorded sound; and analyzing the identified snoring and/or apnea to locate upper airway structural sources generating the snoring and/or the apnea. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method of detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject; and identifying snoring within the monitored sound; identifying a soft palate of the sleeping subject as a source of the snoring when the frequency content of the snoring is substantially a fundamental frequency of between a predetermined upper and lower frequency threshold and harmonics of the fundamental frequency. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A method for use in detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject including a recording at least a portion of the monitored sound; comparing the monitored sound with a first recording threshold level; and deactivating recording when the monitored sound exceeds the first threshold level for at least a first time period. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A method of detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject; electronically processing the monitored sound to automatically identify breathing events; electronically processing the monitored sound to automatically detect temporal gaps in the breathing events to identify apnea events; electronically processing the monitored sound to automatically identify snoring events. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method for use in detecting and analyzing sleep disorders comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring sound produced by a sleeping subject; storing at least a portion of the monitored sound; displaying at least portions of the stored monitored sound or of data derived from the monitored sound; listening to selected portions of the displayed portions. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
Specification