Devices for diagnosing sleep apnea or other conditions and related systems and methods
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a body configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient; and
multiple sensors mounted in or on the body, the sensors comprising multiple vibrational or acoustic sensors spaced apart along at least part of a length of the body and configured to collect vibrational or acoustic data associated with the airway of the patient at multiple locations along the airway of the patient;
wherein the sensors in or on the body are configured to be inserted through a mouth or nose of the patient into an esophagus of the patient in order to position the sensors in the airway of the patient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system includes a sensor device having a body configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient and one or more sensors mounted in or on the body. The one or more sensors are configured to collect sensor data associated with the airway of the patient. The system also includes a signal analyzer configured to analyze the sensor data. The one or more sensors could include one or more microphones. The signal analyzer could identify volume and/or pitch characteristics of the sensor data, perform pattern recognition to identify one or more patterns using the volume and/or pitch characteristics, and use the one or more patterns to identify a type, a location, and/or a degree of airway obstruction. This could be done, for instance, to determine if the patient suffers from obstructive sleep apnea or other condition that affects his or her airway.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a body configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient; and multiple sensors mounted in or on the body, the sensors comprising multiple vibrational or acoustic sensors spaced apart along at least part of a length of the body and configured to collect vibrational or acoustic data associated with the airway of the patient at multiple locations along the airway of the patient; wherein the sensors in or on the body are configured to be inserted through a mouth or nose of the patient into an esophagus of the patient in order to position the sensors in the airway of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system comprising:
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a sensor device comprising; a body configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient; and multiple sensors mounted in or on the body, the sensors comprising multiple vibrational or acoustic sensors spaced apart along at least part of a length of the body and configured to collect vibrational or acoustic data associated with the airway of the patient at multiple locations along the airway of the patient; wherein the sensors in or on the body are configured to be inserted through a mouth or nose of the patient into an esophagus of the patient in order to position the sensors in the airway of the patient; and a signal analyzer configured to analyze sensor data including the vibrational or acoustic data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising computer readable program code for:
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receiving sensor data comprising vibrational or acoustic data from multiple sensors, the sensors comprising multiple vibrational or acoustic sensors spaced apart along at least part of a length of a sensor device that is configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient, the sensors configured to be inserted through a mouth or nose of the patient into an esophagus of the patient in order to position the sensors in the airway of the patient, the vibrational or acoustic data associated with the airway of the patient at multiple locations along the airway of the patient; and analyzing the sensor data to determine if the patient suffers from a specified condition affecting the airway of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method comprising:
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placing a patient under sedation; inserting a sensor device into an airway of the patient, the sensor device comprising multiple sensors, the sensors comprising multiple vibrational or acoustic sensors spaced apart along at least part of a length of the sensor′
device, the sensors inserted through a mouth or nose of the patient into an esophagus of the patient in order to position the sensors in the airway of the patient;collecting sensor data, including vibrational or acoustic data associated with the patient using the sensor device; and analyzing, using at least one processing unit, the sensor data to determine if the patient suffers from a specified condition affecting the airway of the patient.
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Specification