Mandibular Advancement Device with External Driver
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mandibular advancement devices lack the ability to dynamically adjust their position based on the user's sleep position and respiratory state, leading to potential discomfort and inadequate airway expansion.
Innovation Solution
A mandibular advancement system that includes an upper teeth seating part, a lower teeth seating part, a driver configured to change the relative location of the lower teeth seating part, and a detector to monitor biometric information such as sleep position, respiratory sounds, and oxygen saturation, with a controller controlling the driver's operation based on this data, and the driver is disposed outside the oral cavity to minimize discomfort and provide sufficient power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the driver is disposed inside the oral cavity to enable dynamic adjustment, then the adaptability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to pain and drooling
Solution Approach 1:
The driver is extracted from the oral cavity and disposed outside, specifically in the cheek area. This separates the mechanical actuation component from the oral environment, eliminating the source of pain and drooling while preserving the dynamic adjustment capability through wireless or wired connection to the mandibular advancement device
2Device complexity
If the driver is disposed inside the oral cavity for compact design, then the device complexity is reduced, but the power sufficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A transmission mechanism acts as an intermediary between the driver disposed outside the oral cavity and the mandibular advancement device. This allows the driver to be located in the cheek area where sufficient power can be delivered, while the transmission mechanism transmits this power to the device inside the oral cavity, resolving both the power sufficiency and complexity issues
3Ease of operation
If the driver is disposed outside the oral cavity to reduce discomfort, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into distinct functional modules: the detector module for biometric sensing, the driver module for mechanical actuation disposed outside the oral cavity, and the mandibular advancement device module inside the oral cavity. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently, improving user comfort while managing complexity through modular design
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a mandibular advancement system including: an upper teeth seating part on which upper teeth of a user is placed; a lower teeth seating part on which lower teeth of the user is placed; a driver connected to the upper teeth seating part and the lower teeth seating part and configured to change a relative location of the lower teeth seating part with respect to the upper teeth seating part; a detector configured to detect biometric information of the user; and a controller configured to control driving of the driver based on the biometric information provided by the detector, wherein the driver is disposed outside an oral cavity of the user.