Respiratory Pressure Controller Sleep Transition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current respiratory disorder treatment devices often fail to provide optimal comfort, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and manufacturability, particularly in managing sleep-disordered breathing events during the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Innovation Solution
A medical device comprising a pressure device and a controller with a processor that initiates treatment by following a pre-sleep pressure profile, transitioning to a bridging profile upon detection of sleep onset to reach a therapeutic pressure, ensuring comfortable and effective treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If therapeutic pressure is applied immediately upon initiation of treatment, then treatment efficacy is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates making it difficult to fall asleep
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by delivering pre-sleep pressure before therapeutic pressure to prepare the patient for treatment. The pre-sleep pressure profile is delivered during the pre-sleep mode to allow the patient to fall asleep comfortably, and only after sleep onset is detected does the system transition to delivering therapeutic pressure, thus resolving the contradiction between immediate treatment efficacy and patient comfort.
2Ease of operation
If pre-sleep pressure is delivered for extended period, then patient comfort is improved, but treatment delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from sleep detection mechanisms to dynamically control the transition from pre-sleep mode to therapy mode. When sleep onset is detected, the system automatically transitions from delivering pre-sleep pressure to delivering therapeutic pressure, ensuring that the pre-sleep pressure is delivered only for the necessary duration to ensure patient comfort without unnecessary treatment delay.
3Reliability
If pressure transition is abrupt, then treatment efficacy is improved, but sleep disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dynamics by using a bridging pressure profile that dynamically transitions between pre-sleep pressure and therapeutic pressure. Instead of an abrupt switch, the bridging profile gradually adjusts the pressure over time, allowing the patient's respiratory system to adapt smoothly to the therapeutic pressure while maintaining treatment efficacy and minimizing sleep disruption.
4Productivity
If sleep detection is implemented, then pressure timing is optimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by using the patient's own physiological signals (breathing patterns) to automatically detect sleep onset and trigger the transition from pre-sleep mode to therapy mode. The sleep detection mechanism analyzes the patient's breathing without requiring external intervention or complex additional sensors, allowing the system to self-regulate the pressure delivery timing based on the patient's natural physiological state.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an apparatus for treating a respiratory disorder. The apparatus comprises a pressure device, and a controller, including at least one processor, configured to control the pressure device to: supply, upon initiation of treatment, a flow of pressurized air to the airway of a patient at a treatment pressure according to a pre-sleep profile of pressure versus time, increase, upon detection of sleep onset of the patient, the treatment pressure to a predetermined therapeutic pressure according to a bridging profile of pressure versus time, and supply the flow of pressurized air to the airway of the patient at a therapeutic pressure.