Sensor-Guided Mandible Movement for Snoring and Sleep Apnea
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to accurately identify and control snoring and sleep apnea symptoms during sleep due to their occurrence without conscious awareness, making timely intervention difficult and precise treatment challenging.
Innovation Solution
A snoring and sleep apnea prevention system that uses sensors to measure lung volume, body temperature, noise, vibration, and oxygen saturation to determine symptoms, and employs a control mechanism to adjust the user's mandible through a preset routine to prevent these symptoms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If direct observation of patient's sleep state is performed to identify snoring and sleep apnea, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and loss of time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-monitoring by automatically detecting snoring and sleep apnea events during sleep without requiring external observation or patient awareness. The sensor unit mounted on the patient's body continuously monitors physiological parameters and automatically identifies events, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring external intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical observation with automated electronic sensing and processing. Instead of direct physical observation, the system uses sensor units to detect physiological signals, processes them through control units, and automatically identifies snoring and sleep apnea events, substituting mechanical observation with electronic automation.
2Reliability
If real-time control of mandible is applied to prevent snoring and sleep apnea, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit is programmed with preset routines that define predetermined mandible movement patterns. Instead of requiring real-time manual control, the system prepares and executes predefined action sequences in advance, automatically adjusting the mandible position based on detected sleep stages and events without requiring operational input during execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-control by automatically interpreting sensor data and executing appropriate mandible movements without external intervention. The control unit monitors physiological parameters, identifies sleep stages and events, and autonomously activates the operating part to adjust the mandible, allowing the device to serve itself rather than requiring user operation.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensor measurements are integrated to determine sleep apnea state, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor measurements (respiratory effort, chest movement, abdominal movement, head position) into a unified detection system. The control unit integrates these diverse signals and processes them together to determine sleep apnea events, merging multiple measurement functions into a coordinated system that achieves higher precision through combined data rather than separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A snoring and sleep apnea preventer to prevent snoring and sleep apnea from occurring during a user's sleep comprises a sensor part mounted on a body part of the user and collecting sensing information to determine snoring and sleep apnea symptoms occurring in the user; an operating part mounted in the user's mouth to move the user's mandible in response to the sensing information; and a control part for controlling the operating part based on the sensing information sensed via the sensor part, and controlling the operating part in stages to control snoring and sleep apnea symptoms occurring in the user.