Impedance Waveform Analysis for Sleep-Disordered Breathing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices fail to provide early warnings for sleep disordered breathing and heart conditions, such as heart failure, which often lead to hospitalization and mortality, as they require in-person examinations and sleep studies for diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A wearable or implantable medical device continuously monitors breathing patterns using impedance measurements to detect sleep disordered breathing, calculates an SDB index, and determines heart condition status, autonomously alerting caregivers or patients to potential worsening heart failure or arrhythmias.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If in-person examinations and sleep studies are used for diagnosis, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but patient convenience and accessibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses impedance measurements to create a surrogate indicator of breathing patterns during sleep, copying the essential diagnostic information without requiring actual sleep study equipment or in-person examinations. The impedance waveform serves as a substitute measurement that can be obtained continuously by implantable devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical sleep study equipment and in-person examination procedures with electrical impedance measurements. By using changes in electrical impedance to detect breathing patterns, the system eliminates the need for cumbersome polysomnography equipment while maintaining diagnostic capability
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring is implemented, then early detection capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the implantable device perform multiple functions: it continues its primary cardiac monitoring role while simultaneously detecting sleep-disordered breathing through impedance measurements. This multi-functionality allows continuous monitoring of both heart conditions and breathing patterns without requiring separate dedicated devices
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses its existing impedance measurement capability, originally intended for cardiac function assessment, to also detect breathing patterns. The same electrical leads and measurement circuitry serve dual purposes, eliminating the need for additional sensors or measurement systems
3Reliability
If early warning systems are deployed, then patient outcomes are improved, but loss of time for clinical intervention increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary detection of sleep-disordered breathing and generates early warnings before heart failure decompensation occurs. By identifying breathing abnormalities during sleep, the system provides advance notice that allows clinicians to intervene preventively rather than reactively after acute events
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables early detection of sleep disordered breathing and heart conditions, allowing for timely interventions and reducing hospitalizations by providing continuous monitoring and alerts outside clinical settings.
Implementation Method 1
sense, by the one or more sensors, one or more sensor signals indicative of the one or more physiological parameters of the patient
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a system includes a medical device including one or more sensors configured to sense one or more physiological parameters of a patient. The system also includes processing circuitry configured to: sense, by the one or more sensors, one or more sensor signals indicative of the one or more physiological parameters of the patient; determine, based at least in part on the one or more sensor signals, a waveform corresponding to a breathing pattern of the patient; determine, based on the waveform, an envelope signal; determine a sleep disordered breathing index based at least in part on the envelope signal; and determine a heart condition status of the patient based on the sleep disordered breathing index.