Feedback-Adjusted Mandibular Advancement for Sleep Apnea Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing therapies for obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, such as CPAP and mandibular advancement devices, face issues with patient compliance due to discomfort, difficulty of use, aesthetics, and high cost, while polysomnography is expensive and inconvenient for screening and diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A mandibular advancement device (MAD) with an integrated feedback system that adjusts based on sensor data to reposition the lower jaw, featuring an upper and lower splint connected by rods, and a control system that processes sensor data to determine respiratory event likelihood and adjust the device position accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If CPAP therapy is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, then respiratory events are effectively managed, but patient compliance deteriorates due to discomfort and difficulty of use
Solution Approach 1:
The MAD incorporates sensors that detect respiratory events (snoring, apnea, hypopnea) and provide real-time feedback to a control system, which automatically adjusts the mandibular advancement position to maintain airway patency while minimizing discomfort
Solution Approach 2:
The MAD transitions from a static device to a dynamic one with adjustable mandibular advancement capability, allowing the device to adapt its position during sleep based on detected respiratory conditions, thereby maintaining effectiveness while improving comfort
2Measurement precision
If polysomnography is used for screening and diagnosis, then accurate respiratory event detection is achieved, but cost and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential respiratory event detection function from the complex polysomnography system, implementing only the necessary sensing capabilities (acoustic sensors for snoring, flow sensors for apnea/hypopnea) within the MAD device itself, thereby achieving accurate detection without the full complexity and cost of traditional polysomnography
3Reliability
If mandibular advancement devices are used to treat snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, then respiratory events are addressed, but patient compliance deteriorates due to discomfort and aesthetics
Solution Approach 1:
The MAD uses sensor feedback to automatically adjust its position, eliminating the need for manual adjustment and reducing discomfort associated with fixed advanced positions, thereby improving patient compliance while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs self-adjustment of mandibular advancement based on its own sensor readings, serving itself to optimize position without requiring patient intervention or complex external control systems
Data Source
AI summary
An intraoral device system includes an intraoral device; an upper splint structured to engage with at least a portion of one or more teeth on a maxilla of a patient; a lower splint structured to engage with at least a portion of one or more teeth on a mandible of the patient; a drive system for moving the lower splint with respect to the upper splint; and an adjusting feedback system. The adjusting feedback system can comprise a memory storing machine-readable instructions; and a control system including one or more processors configured to execute the machine-readable instructions. The machine readable instructions can cause the control system to: receive sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the patient; process the sensor data to determine a respiratory event likelihood parameter of the patient; and output control instructions to the intraoral device that operate the drive system to move the lower splint with respect to the upper splint responsive to the determined respiratory event likelihood parameter.