Sensor-Guided Oral Muscle Training for Airway Patency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral muscle training devices for treating sleep disordered breathing do not effectively determine initial therapy parameters or measure progress, leading to inconsistent treatment efficacy and low user compliance.
Innovation Solution
An electrical stimulation device with integrated sensors to measure oral muscle tone, allowing for personalized stimulation plans and real-time progress monitoring, using pressure sensors, microphones, and optical sensors to adjust therapy parameters based on user data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a continuous positive airway pressure device or mandibular advancement device is used to keep the breathing passage open, then the airway remains patent, but user compliance is low due to discomfort and the need for ongoing use during sleep
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs preliminary action by training oral muscles during awake states before sleep occurs. This proactive muscle strengthening prevents airway collapse during sleep without requiring the user to wear a device during sleep, thereby improving compliance while maintaining airway patency reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The device enables self-service by having users train their own oral muscles using the stimulation device during awake periods. This eliminates the need for continuous external support during sleep, as the strengthened muscles independently maintain airway patency, improving both compliance and reliability.
2Reliability
If implantable electrical nerve stimulators are used to stimulate the tongue nerve during obstructive episodes, then the obstruction is relieved, but the treatment does not address the underlying cause and requires ongoing maintenance and battery replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service by having users perform regular muscle training during awake periods, which progressively strengthens the muscles to prevent obstruction. This eliminates the need for implantable devices and ongoing maintenance, as the strengthened muscles provide sustained obstruction relief without external intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs preliminary action by strengthening muscles before sleep and obstruction occur. This preventive approach addresses the underlying cause of obstruction rather than merely relieving symptoms during episodes, eliminating the need for complex implantable devices and their associated maintenance.
3Ease of operation
If standardized stimulation parameters are used for all patients, then the device is simple to operate, but treatment efficacy varies due to individual differences in muscle tone and response
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies parameter changes by automatically adjusting stimulation parameters (current intensity, pulse duration, frequency) based on real-time feedback from sensors measuring muscle tone and response. This maintains ease of operation while improving treatment efficacy through personalized parameters adapted to each patient's specific needs and progress.
Solution Approach 2:
The device implements feedback by using sensors to continuously monitor muscle tone and stimulation response, then automatically adjusting parameters accordingly. This closed-loop system maintains simplicity for the user while ensuring optimal and reliable treatment efficacy through real-time adaptation to individual patient characteristics.
4Device complexity
If no progress measurement is implemented, then the device structure remains simple, but user compliance decreases due to inability to track improvement
Solution Approach 1:
The device implements feedback by incorporating sensors that measure muscle tone before, during, and after stimulation sessions, then providing users with progress data. This minimal increase in device complexity significantly improves compliance by enabling users to track their improvement and stay motivated.
Solution Approach 2:
The device replaces complex mechanical progress tracking systems with electronic sensors and digital data processing. This substitution achieves comprehensive progress measurement with minimal structural complexity, improving compliance through easy-to-access digital feedback while keeping the device structure relatively simple.
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
Enables tailored stimulation sessions that improve muscle tone, enhancing treatment efficacy and user compliance by providing personalized and adaptive therapy plans.
Implementation Method 1
pressure sensors, microphones, and optical sensors to adjust therapy parameters
Implementation Method 2
a mouthpiece for location between the upper and lower mandible arches and a pair of flanges for engaging the upper or dorsal surface of the tongue and a pair of flanges for engaging the sublingual surface of the tongue, each of the flanges including an electrode. Energising the device causes, in an embodiment, an electric current to be applied to the tongue between the sublingual and dorsal surfaces to target the genioglossus muscle
Implementation Method 3
optical transmission or reflectance sensors usable to determine the vascularity of one or more muscles
Data Source
AI summary
A device (103) for applying an electrical stimulation to one or more muscles of the mouth of the user, the device (103) includes one or more electrodes (132, 133) for applying electrical stimulation to one or more muscles of the mouth of a user and a sensor (140a, 140b, 141a, 141b) for determining the muscle tone of the tongue of the user. Also disclosed are methods and systems for determining a stimulation plan.