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 generally 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 substantially sealed fluid communication with a corresponding cell, and the proximal end being in substantially 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; and
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.
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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.
94 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An intra-oral system for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, the system comprising:
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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 generally 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 substantially sealed fluid communication with a corresponding cell, and the proximal end being in substantially 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; and 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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for monitoring bite pressures of a patient during sleep, comprising:
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providing an elastomeric mouth piece comprising; opposing left and right sides, and an arcuate portion intermediate the left and right sides to form a generally 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; 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 each of each of the plurality of tubes is in substantially 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, and 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 reviewing a graph that shows bite pressure exerted by the patient as a function of time. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification