System and method for treating obstructive sleep apnea
First Claim
1. An apparatus for terminating a physiological process that causes cessation of breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a complete obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, wherein said physiological process is terminated before cessation of breathing occurs, wherein the apparatus comprises:
- at least one microphone capable of being acoustically associated with said person, said microphone capable of detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person and capable of generating signals representative of said breathing sounds;
a controller coupled to said at least one microphone and capable of receiving said signals, said controller capable of identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process, before cessation of breathing occurs, and capable of generating an alarm signal in response thereto; and
a stimulus generator coupled to said controller, said stimulus generator capable of receiving said alarm signal from said controller, and in response thereto, creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backwards to terminate said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed a system and method for treating obstructive sleep apnea by terminating an obstructive sleep apnea event before the cessation of breathing occurs. The system comprises one or more microphones capable of detecting breathing sounds within an airway of a person. The microphones generate signals representative of the breathing sounds and send the signals to a controller. The controller uses digital signal processing to identify at least one signal pattern that is associated with a breathing pattern of the person that occurs at the onset of an obstructive sleep apnea event. When the controller detects a signal pattern that indicates the onset of an obstructive apnea event, the controller sends an alarm signal to a stimulus generator. The stimulus generator creates a stimulus (an electric current, a sound, a vibrator, a flashing light, etc.) to cause the sleeping person to move in a manner to terminate the obstructive sleep apnea event before cessation of breathing occurs. The obstructive sleep apnea event is terminated without waking the sleeping person and without causing the sleeping person physiological stress associated with cessation of breathing.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An apparatus for terminating a physiological process that causes cessation of breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a complete obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, wherein said physiological process is terminated before cessation of breathing occurs, wherein the apparatus comprises:
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at least one microphone capable of being acoustically associated with said person, said microphone capable of detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person and capable of generating signals representative of said breathing sounds; a controller coupled to said at least one microphone and capable of receiving said signals, said controller capable of identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process, before cessation of breathing occurs, and capable of generating an alarm signal in response thereto; and a stimulus generator coupled to said controller, said stimulus generator capable of receiving said alarm signal from said controller, and in response thereto, creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backwards to terminate said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for terminating a physiological process that causes partially occluded breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a partial obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, wherein said physiological process is terminated before cessation of breathing occurs, wherein the apparatus comprises:
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at least one microphone capable of being acoustically associated with said person, said microphone capable of detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person and capable of generating signals representative of said breathing sounds; a controller coupled to said at least one microphone and capable of receiving said signals, said controller capable of identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a partially occluded breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs, and capable of generating an alarm signal in response thereto; and a stimulus generator coupled to said controller, said stimulus generator capable of receiving said alarm signal from said controller, and in response thereto, creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backward to terminate said partially occluded breathing and to restore normal breathing. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for terminating a physiological process that causes cessation of breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a complete obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person; generating signals representative of said breathing sounds; identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs; and creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backwards to terminate said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for terminating a physiological process that causes partially occluded breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a partial obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, wherein said physiological process is terminated before cessation of breathing occurs, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person; generating signals representative of said breathing sounds; identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a partially occluded breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs; recording said at least one signal pattern that is associated with a partially occluded breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs; monitoring said signals representative of said breathing sounds as said person breathes; comparing said signals representative of said breathing sounds with said recorded at least one signal pattern that is associated with a partially occluded breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs; identifying within said signals a signal pattern that is substantially the same as said recorded at least one signal pattern that is associated with a partially occluded breathing pattern of said person that occurs at the onset of said physiological process before cessation of breathing occurs; and creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backwards to terminate said partially occluded breathing and to restore normal breathing.
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29. A method for terminating a physiological process that causes cessation of breathing to occur in an airway of a person due to a complete obstruction of said airway due to an obstructive sleep apnea event, wherein said physiological process is terminated before cessation of breathing occurs, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting breathing sounds within said airway of said person; generating signals representative of said breathing sounds; identifying within said signals at least one signal pattern that is associated with a normal breathing pattern of said person; recording said at least one signal pattern that is associated with a normal breathing pattern of said person; monitoring said signals representative of said breathing sounds as said person breathes; comparing said signals representative of said breathing sounds with said recorded at least one signal pattern that is associated with a normal breathing pattern of said person; identifying within said signals a signal pattern that is substantially different from said recorded at least one signal pattern that is associated with a normal breathing pattern of said person; and creating a stimulus to said person'"'"'s neck muscles to cause said person to move said person'"'"'s neck muscles to move said person'"'"'s head backwards to restore normal breathing before cessation of breathing occurs.
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Specification