Intraoral PPG Sensor Placement for Sleep Disorder Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring and treating sleep disorders and intraoral muscular disorders lack a comprehensive and real-time monitoring solution, leading to inadequate detection and management of these conditions.
Innovation Solution
An intraoral monitoring device with a flexible substrate and integrated sensors, including photoplethysmography, microphone, pH, temperature, pressure, and accelerometer sensors, that provides real-time data on cardiorespiratory and muscular parameters, enabling classification of sleep stages and monitoring of snoring intensity and saliva pH.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple types of sensors are integrated into the intraoral monitoring device, then the measurement precision and comprehensiveness of sleep disorder detection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple sensor types (PPG sensors, microphones, pH sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and accelerometers) into a single intraoral monitoring device. This merging of multiple functional components into one unified device enables comprehensive measurement of cardiorespiratory parameters, muscle activity, saliva pH, temperature, and movement patterns simultaneously, thereby improving detection accuracy while managing device complexity through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The intraoral monitoring device is designed with multi-functionality to detect various sleep-related parameters including cardiorespiratory data, muscle activity, snoring sounds, saliva pH levels, temperature, and positional information. This universal approach allows a single device to perform multiple diagnostic functions, improving measurement precision across different physiological parameters without requiring separate monitoring devices for each parameter.
2Reliability
If the intraoral monitoring device includes multiple sensors for comprehensive monitoring, then the reliability of sleep disorder detection is improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates distinct sensor modules (PPG sensors for cardiorespiratory monitoring, microphones for snoring detection, pH sensors for saliva analysis, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and accelerometers for movement tracking) that can be independently manufactured and then integrated. This segmentation allows each sensor type to be optimized and manufactured separately using appropriate processes, then assembled into the final intraoral device, improving detection reliability while maintaining reasonable ease of manufacture through modular assembly.
3Loss of information
If the device monitors multiple parameters simultaneously, then the loss of information is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing functions (PPG optical sensors for blood flow detection, microphones for acoustic monitoring, pH sensors for chemical analysis, temperature sensors for thermal monitoring, pressure sensors for force detection, and accelerometers for motion tracking) into a single integrated intraoral device. This merging ensures all relevant sleep parameters are captured simultaneously without information loss, while the integrated architecture manages complexity through shared processing and unified data management.
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
The device effectively monitors and classifies sleep stages, detects sleep disorders, and provides real-time data for improved diagnosis and management of sleep and intraoral muscular disorders, enhancing the detection and treatment of these conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The first PPG sensor may include at least one first light or infrared (IR) source, and at least one first photodetector. The at least one first light or IR source is configured to emit light along the first anatomical location. Further, the at least one first photodetector is operatively coupled to the at least one first light or infrared (IR) source to measure the light reflected from the first anatomical location to generate the plurality of first PPG signal
Data Source
AI summary
An intraoral monitoring device includes a plurality of sensors integrated on a flexible substrate. The plurality of sensors includes first and second photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. The first PPG sensor is coupled along an anterior portion of the flexible substrate and adapted to be located intraorally along a first anatomical location defined along a mid-line of a maxilla, facing the labial mucosa, directly at a septal branch of a superior labial artery in a front lip to consistently provide a plurality of first PPG signal, relating to a plurality of cardiorespiratory parameters. Further, the second PPG sensor is coupled to a rear portion of the flexible substrate, adapted to be located intraorally along a second anatomical location defined along the interior part of an oral cavity facing outward toward the labial mucosa to consistently provide a plurality of second PPG signals, relating to a plurality of muscular parameters.