Integrated sleep apnea screening system
First Claim
1. A sleep apnea screening system, comprisinga) a respiration sensor, for sensing a respiratory pattern, at a location on a respiratory tract;
- b) a processor, for analyzing said respiratory pattern to determine the presence of a pattern of apnea, and for correlating said pattern of apnea with a diagnosis;
c) a display, for displaying said diagnosis;
d) a power source, for powering said respiration sensor, said processor, and said display; and
e) a housing, for housing said processor, said display, and said power source, on said respiration sensor, said housing being placeable at said location on said respiratory tract.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention is a method, and device, suitable for use without professional medical supervision, for screening for sleep apnea. All elements of the device are housed in a small, flexible, plastic housing which is placed on the user'"'"'s philtrum. A thermistor acquires data describing the respiratory pattern. A processor analyzes the respiratory pattern in real time and outputs a study result, describing the occurrence of any episodes of apnea, to a non-volatile colored marker on the plastic housing. A flashing LED display informs the user when placement of the device is appropriate. A lithium battery, which powers all elements of the device, is activated by a pull-tab removed by the user.
257 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A sleep apnea screening system, comprising
a) a respiration sensor, for sensing a respiratory pattern, at a location on a respiratory tract; -
b) a processor, for analyzing said respiratory pattern to determine the presence of a pattern of apnea, and for correlating said pattern of apnea with a diagnosis;
c) a display, for displaying said diagnosis;
d) a power source, for powering said respiration sensor, said processor, and said display; and
e) a housing, for housing said processor, said display, and said power source, on said respiration sensor, said housing being placeable at said location on said respiratory tract. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
a) an analog to digital converter, for converting said sensed respiratory pattern into a digital signal; b) an apnea detector, for detecting episodes of apnea in said digital signal;
c) an apnea duration timer, for timing the duration of said episodes of apnea;
d) an apnea counter, for counting the number of said episodes of apnea;
e) a normal breath counter, for counting the number of normal breaths in said digital signal;
f) a decision integrator, for i) generating a description of a pattern of apnea from said number of episodes of apnea, said duration of episodes of apnea, and said number of normal breaths, ii) correlating said pattern of apnea with a diagnosis, and iii) informing said display to display said diagnosis; and
g) a timer, for initiating and terminating operation of said analog to digital converter, said apnea detector, said apnea duration timer, said apnea counter, said normal breath counter, and said decision integrator.
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9. A sleep apnea screening method, comprising the steps of
a) placing a housing at a location on a respiratory tract; -
b) sensing a respiratory pattern at said housing during a time interval;
c) processing said sensed respiratory pattern to detect the presence of a pattern of apnea, said processing occurring during said time interval, d) correlating said pattern of apnea with a diagnosis, said correlating occurring during said time interval; and
e) displaying said diagnosis on said housing. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification