Non-Contact Sleep Breathing Detection with Acoustic-Radar Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting sleep disordered breathing and coughing are cumbersome, costly, and lack accessibility, with polysomnography being invasive and other systems suffering from comfort, noise, ease of use, and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
The use of non-contact sensors, including passive acoustic and active radar technologies, to monitor respiratory signals and coughing patterns, processed by processors to generate indicators of sleep disordered breathing and coughing, enabling remote analysis and adjustment of therapy settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If polysomnography is used for detecting sleep disordered breathing, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential monitoring function from complex polysomnography systems by using simple non-contact sensors (acoustic and radar) that can detect respiratory signals without the need for multiple electrodes, wires, and complex processing equipment. This extraction maintains diagnostic capability while removing unnecessary complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical contact-based sensing (electrodes, belts, nasal cannulas) with non-contact acoustic and radar sensing. This substitution eliminates the mechanical intrusion while preserving the ability to detect respiratory signals, thereby reducing device complexity and improving patient comfort.
2Measurement precision
If polysomnography is used for detecting sleep disordered breathing, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system requires minimal setup and operation from the user. The non-contact sensors automatically detect respiratory signals without requiring the patient to attach or adjust equipment. The system self-adjusts to capture the necessary data, making it as easy to use as sleeping normally while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If non-contact sensors are used for monitoring, then ease of operation and comfort are improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple non-contact sensing modalities (acoustic sensing and radar sensing) into a single monitoring system. This merging compensates for the limitations of individual sensors by integrating their strengths, thereby maintaining diagnostic accuracy while preserving the comfort benefits of non-contact monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses signal processing algorithms as intermediaries to extract accurate respiratory information from the non-contact sensor data. These processing techniques enhance the quality of signals captured by acoustic and radar sensors, ensuring diagnostic accuracy is maintained despite the non-contact nature of the sensing.
4Adaptability or versatility
If existing detection systems are used, then accessibility is reduced, but if non-contact sensors are used, then accessibility improves while maintaining diagnostic capability
Solution Approach 1:
The non-contact sensor system is designed to be universally applicable across different sleep environments and patient populations. The acoustic and radar sensors can detect respiratory signals regardless of patient position, bedding type, or room conditions, thereby improving accessibility while maintaining diagnostic accuracy through their versatile sensing capability.
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
Provides a cost-effective, accessible, and comfortable solution for screening and monitoring sleep disordered breathing and coughing, improving diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic compliance.
Implementation Method 1
a radar sensor configured to generate a motion signal representing motion of the subject
Implementation Method 2
an acoustic sensor configured to generate an acoustic signal in response to detecting sound
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus provide monitoring of a sleep disordered breathing state of a person such as for screening. One or more sensors may be configured for non-contact active and/or passive sensing. The processor(s) (7304, 7006) may extract respiratory effort signal(s) from one or more motion signals generated by active non-contact sensing with the sensor(s). The processor(s) may extract one or more energy band signals from an acoustic audio signal generated by passive non-contact sensing with the sensor(s). The processor(s) may assess the energy band signal(s) and/or the respiratory efforts signal(s) to generate intensity signal(s) representing sleep disorder breathing modulation. The processor(s) may classify feature(s) derived from the one or more intensity signals to generate measure(s) of sleep disordered breathing. The processor may generate a sleep disordered breathing indicator based on the measure(s) of sleep disordered breathing. Some versions may evaluate sensing signal(s) to generate indication(s) of cough event(s) and/or cough type.