Mouth guard for detecting and monitoring bite pressures
First Claim
1. An intra-oral system for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, the system comprising:
- an elastomeric mouth piece dimensioned and configured to reside between the upper and lower teeth of a patient, the mouth piece comprising opposing left and right sides, and an arcuate portion intermediate the left and right sides to form a horseshoe-shaped member;
at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the left side, and at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the right side, the fluid-containing cells being configured to respond to pressure applied by the teeth of the patient;
a plurality of tubes, each tube having a proximal end and a distal end, with the distal end of each of the tubes being in sealed fluid communication with a corresponding cell, and the proximal end being in sealed fluid communication with a respective transducer external to the mouth piece, wherein each transducer is configured to convert changes in pressure within the cells to electrical signals;
a processor for processing the electrical signals, wherein the electrical signals are modulated to generate a pressure profile from the cells representing a magnitude of pressure applied by the teeth as a function of time; and
an electronics box external to the user'"'"'s mouth for housing each transducer and the processor;
wherein;
the mouth piece further comprises a transition section extending from the arcuate portion of the mouth piece, the transition section having fluid channels corresponding to each fluid cell,each channel slidably receives a corresponding tube,the transition section is fabricated from a rigid thermoplastic material,the electronics box connects immediately to the transition section and is supported by the transition section and the tubes, andeach tube slidably extends into the corresponding channel of the transition section.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An intra-oral pressure monitoring system is provided. The system is beneficial for measuring or monitoring teeth clinching or grinding during sleep. The system includes a generally horseshoe-shaped, elastomeric mouth piece. The mouth piece is dimensioned to reside between the upper and lower teeth of a patient. The mouth piece has a two or more fluid-containing cells embedded therein. The cells are configured to receive pressure applied by the teeth of a patient. The system is able to monitor bite pressures during a patient'"'"'s sleep or time of resting. A method for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep is also provided.
-
Citations
37 Claims
-
1. An intra-oral system for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, the system comprising:
-
an elastomeric mouth piece dimensioned and configured to reside between the upper and lower teeth of a patient, the mouth piece comprising opposing left and right sides, and an arcuate portion intermediate the left and right sides to form a horseshoe-shaped member; at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the left side, and at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the right side, the fluid-containing cells being configured to respond to pressure applied by the teeth of the patient; a plurality of tubes, each tube having a proximal end and a distal end, with the distal end of each of the tubes being in sealed fluid communication with a corresponding cell, and the proximal end being in sealed fluid communication with a respective transducer external to the mouth piece, wherein each transducer is configured to convert changes in pressure within the cells to electrical signals; a processor for processing the electrical signals, wherein the electrical signals are modulated to generate a pressure profile from the cells representing a magnitude of pressure applied by the teeth as a function of time; and an electronics box external to the user'"'"'s mouth for housing each transducer and the processor; wherein; the mouth piece further comprises a transition section extending from the arcuate portion of the mouth piece, the transition section having fluid channels corresponding to each fluid cell, each channel slidably receives a corresponding tube, the transition section is fabricated from a rigid thermoplastic material, the electronics box connects immediately to the transition section and is supported by the transition section and the tubes, and each tube slidably extends into the corresponding channel of the transition section. - 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 for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, comprising:
-
providing an elastomeric mouth piece comprising; opposing left and right sides, and an arcuate portion intermediate the left and right sides to form a horseshoe-shaped member; at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the left side, and at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the right side, the fluid-containing cells being configured to respond to pressure applied by the upper and lower teeth; and a plurality of tubes extending from the mouth piece, with each tube having a distal end in sealed fluid communication with a corresponding fluid-containing cell; wherein; each cell and each tube contains (i) a compressible fluid, (ii) a non-toxic incompressible fluid, or (iii) a combination thereof, the mouth piece comprises a transition section extending from the arcuate portion of the mouth piece, and the transition section is fabricated from a rigid thermoplastic material; inserting each tube into a corresponding fluid channel residing in the transition section; placing the mouth piece into a patient'"'"'s mouth between upper and lower teeth of the patient; having the patient sleep for a period of time with the mouth piece in the patient'"'"'s mouth, wherein; a proximal end of each of the plurality of tubes is in sealed fluid communication with a respective transducer external to the mouth piece, with each transducer being configured to convert changes in pressure within the cells to electrical signals, the transducers are in electrical communication with a processor, with the processor being designed to process the electrical signals and to generate a pressure profile from the cells, and the transducers and the processor are housed in an electronics box external to the mouth of the patient, with the electronics box being connected immediately to the transition sections; and reviewing a graph that shows bite pressure exerted by the patient as a function of time. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. An intra-oral system for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, the system comprising:
-
an elastomeric mouth piece dimensioned and configured to reside between the upper and lower teeth of a patient, the mouth piece comprising opposing left and right sides, and an arcuate portion intermediate the left and right sides to form a horseshoe-shaped member; at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the left side, and at least one fluid-containing cell residing within the mouth piece on the right side, the fluid-containing cells being configured to respond to pressure applied by the teeth of the patient; a plurality of tubes, each tube having a proximal end and a distal end, with the distal end of each of the tubes being in sealed fluid communication with a corresponding cell, and the proximal end being in sealed fluid communication with a respective transducer external to the mouth piece, wherein each transducer is configured to convert changes in pressure within the cells to electrical signals; a processor for processing the electrical signals, wherein the electrical signals are modulated to generate a pressure profile from the cells representing a magnitude of pressure as a function of time; and an electronics box for housing each transducer and the processor; wherein; the mouth piece further comprises a transition section extending from the arcuate portion of the mouth piece, the transition section having fluid channels corresponding to each fluid cell, with each channel being configured to receive the proximal end of a corresponding tube, the transition section is fabricated from a rigid thermoplastic material, the electronics box connects to is supported by the transition section and the tubes, and each tube slidably and frictionally extends into the corresponding channel of the transition section.
-
Specification