Adjustable Oral Interface for Negative Pressure Therapy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral negative-pressure therapy systems often fail to perfectly fit individual patients' anatomy, leading to reduced efficacy and comfort due to the inability to adapt to varying oral anatomies, which can result in incomplete air space elimination between the tongue and upper palate during sleep.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable oral interface with a shield between the lips and front teeth, a negative pressure deliverable part that can be configured in various sizes and shapes to fit between the tongue and upper palate, and a body connector that allows for pivotable assembly, ensuring a customizable and secure fit for different users, utilizing thermoplastic materials for remolding and elastic porous materials for effective pressure delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed oral device is used to deliver negative pressure, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot adapt to different patient anatomies reducing treatment efficacy
Solution Approach 1:
The oral device is divided into multiple detachable components: a mouthguard portion, a palate appliance portion, and a connector portion. Each component can be independently adjusted or replaced to fit different patient anatomies while maintaining overall device functionality and negative pressure delivery capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector portion allows relative movement between the mouthguard and palate appliance portions, enabling the device to adapt dynamically to different oral cavity shapes and sizes. This dynamic adjustment capability provides customization without requiring completely different device designs for each patient.
2Reliability
If a custom-fitted oral device is made for each patient, then treatment efficacy is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses standardized components with varying dimensions that can be combined in different configurations to suit multiple patient types. The mouthguard, palate appliance, and connector portions are designed as universal modules that can be assembled in various ways to achieve effective treatment across different anatomies without requiring completely custom manufacturing for each patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The device provides adjustability in key parameters such as connector length, angle, and component dimensions to match different patient anatomies. These parameter variations allow customization for effective treatment while using the same basic component design, simplifying manufacturing compared to fully custom devices.
3Strength
If the oral device is made rigid for structural stability, then device strength is improved, but comfort and adaptability to oral anatomy decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates rigid structural components (mouthguard, palate appliance) from the flexible connection system (connector portion). This segmentation allows the main components to maintain structural strength while the connector provides flexibility and adaptability through controlled movement between components.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector portion incorporates flexible elements that allow relative movement between rigid components, providing comfort and adaptability to different oral anatomies while maintaining overall device structural integrity through the combination of rigid and flexible elements.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
This invention provides an adjustable oral interface for adapting a user's oral anatomy to deliver a negative pressure generated by an oral negative-pressure therapy system. The adjustable oral interface comprises a shield adapted for being situated between a user's lips and front teeth, a negative pressure deliverable part coupled with the shield, and a tube fluidly communicated between the negative pressure deliverable part and a negative pressure generation source. The negative pressure deliverable part is adapted for being adjustably situated at a space between the user's tongue and upper palate so as to be conformable to the contour of the upper palate, whereby the adjustable oral interface delivers negative pressure via the negative pressure deliverable part to the front and back of the user's oral cavity to eliminate air space between the tongue and the upper palate.