Removable Mandibular Appliance with Real-Time Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for obstructive sleep apnea, such as surgical procedures and nonsurgical devices, often fail to address individual anatomical variances and can lead to complications like TMJ disorders, muscular aggravation, and poor patient compliance due to inadequate customization and data collection for personalized treatment.
Innovation Solution
An oral appliance with customizable components, including sensors for oxygen saturation, pressure, airflow, and noise detection, and a microprocessor that activates stimulation or pharmaceutical delivery based on real-time data to address obstructive sleep apnea, providing tailored treatment and reducing long-term health risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standardized oral appliances are used to advance the mandible, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the adaptability to individual anatomical variances deteriorates and treatment effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The oral appliance is divided into multiple customizable components including a mouthpiece, mandibular advancement mechanism, and sensor array that can be independently adjusted and configured to match individual patient anatomy and treatment requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements that allow customization of mandibular advancement degree, sensor placement, and stimulation parameters to adapt to individual anatomical variances and changing treatment needs
2Reliability
If excessive degree of advancement is applied to protrude the mandible, then the effectiveness in increasing airway space is improved, but harmful factors such as TMJ disorders and muscular aggravation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates sensors that continuously monitor airway patency, mandibular position, and patient comfort, providing real-time feedback that allows automatic adjustment of advancement degree to maintain optimal airway opening while preventing excessive advancement that could cause TMJ disorders or muscular aggravation
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the degree of mandibular advancement based on monitored parameters such as airway resistance, oxygen saturation, and patient feedback, optimizing the balance between airway patency and prevention of harmful effects
3Device complexity
If standardized oral appliances are used without individualized customization, then the device complexity and cost are reduced, but the compliance rate deteriorates due to inadequate addressing of individual anatomical variances
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance is designed with modular customizable components including mouthpiece geometry, advancement mechanisms, and sensor configurations that can be tailored to individual patient anatomy while maintaining a standardized base design for manufacturing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates automated customization features using sensor data and patient feedback to automatically adjust and optimize settings, reducing the need for complex manual customization while improving compliance through personalized treatment
4Reliability
If continuous stimulation is provided to treat sleep apnea, then the treatment effectiveness is improved, but harmful factors such as nerve and muscle fatigue and damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stimulation is delivered in periodic pulses rather than continuously, with intervals between stimulation bursts that allow nerve and muscle recovery, maintaining treatment effectiveness while preventing fatigue and damage
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses real-time monitoring of muscle response and patient feedback to adjust stimulation intensity and duration, providing stimulation only when necessary to maintain airway patency and avoiding excessive stimulation that could cause nerve or muscle damage
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 appliance effectively treats obstructive sleep apnea by providing personalized stimulation and pharmaceutical delivery, enhancing patient comfort and compliance while minimizing risks of TMJ disorders and other complications, and promoting better oxygen saturation and airflow.
Implementation Method 1
sensors for oxygen saturation, pressure, airflow, and noise detection
Implementation Method 2
sensors for oxygen saturation, pressure, airflow, and noise detection
Implementation Method 3
sensors for oxygen saturation, pressure, airflow, and noise detection
Implementation Method 4
sensors for oxygen saturation, pressure, airflow, and noise detection
Data Source
AI summary
An oral appliance for the treatment of sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, in a user is presented. The oral appliance may include a mouthpiece configured to receive a user's dentition. The mouthpiece may include an oxygen sensor, a pressure sensor, an airflow sensor, an actigraphy sensor, a noise detector, and at least one stimulator for providing stimulation to a user's tongue in the event of decreased oxygen saturation levels, increased pressure applied to occlusal surfaces of the user's dentition, decreased actual airflow levels and/or increased noise levels. The mouthpiece may be provided with pharmaceutical compound reservoirs that deliver pharmaceutical compounds to the oral mucosa of the user, which compounds treat symptoms of sleep apnea. The mouthpiece may further include a microprocessor that receives data from the oxygen sensor, pressure sensor, airflow sensor, actigraphy sensor and noise detector, and activates the at least one stimulator and/or pharmaceutical compound reservoirs.