Upper Airway Characterization via Speech Spectral Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) are expensive, time-consuming, and uncomfortable, requiring patients to undergo overnight testing in a sleep lab, which is labor-intensive and lacks accuracy and convenience for daytime screening.
Innovation Solution
A system that characterizes the upper airway using speech characteristics by analyzing spectral properties of an utterance, with a mechanical coupler to restrict jaw position, a sound recording unit, and processing means to determine anatomical parameters, providing real-time feedback and delivering respiratory drugs at the optimal time for maximal cross-section of the upper airway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If overnight sleep lab monitoring is used to diagnose OSA, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but time consumption and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential diagnostic function from the complex overnight sleep lab monitoring system. By using a portable device that performs daytime screening with speech analysis and acoustic pharyngometry, it separates the initial screening function from the comprehensive diagnostic process, allowing quick identification of patients who need full sleep lab evaluation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical and equipment-intensive sleep lab monitoring system with a portable device that uses speech signal processing and acoustic analysis. The complex physiological monitoring equipment is substituted with microphones, processors, and algorithms that analyze speech characteristics to infer upper airway anatomy and OSA risk.
2Measurement precision
If overnight sleep lab monitoring is used to diagnose OSA, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but patient comfort and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential diagnostic function from the complex overnight sleep lab monitoring system. By using a portable device that performs daytime screening with speech analysis and acoustic pharyngometry, it separates the initial screening function from the comprehensive diagnostic process, allowing quick identification of patients who need full sleep lab evaluation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical and equipment-intensive sleep lab monitoring system with a portable device that uses speech signal processing and acoustic analysis. The complex physiological monitoring equipment is substituted with microphones, processors, and algorithms that analyze speech characteristics to infer upper airway anatomy and OSA risk.
3Loss of information
If acoustic pharyngometry is used to measure upper airway geometry, then anatomical parameter extraction is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to low test/retest validity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses feedback by comparing speech-based acoustic measurements with actual anatomical measurements obtained through other means. The system continuously refines its acoustic pharyngometry algorithms by learning from the correlation between speech-derived parameters and ground-truth anatomical data, improving test-retest validity over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention makes the speech signal serve multiple functions: it is used both for linguistic communication and for extracting anatomical information about the upper airway. By analyzing speech characteristics across different vowels and phonemes, the system obtains multiple measurements of airway geometry from a single speech sample, improving reliability.
4Ease of manufacture
If respiratory drugs are delivered without timing optimization, then drug delivery is simplified, but drug delivery efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses periodic action by delivering respiratory drugs in synchronization with the patient's breathing cycle. The system identifies optimal moments when the upper airway is most open (based on real-time acoustic monitoring) and delivers drug pulses at these periodic intervals, maximizing deposition efficiency while maintaining a simple delivery mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies preliminary action by measuring and characterizing the patient's upper airway anatomy and breathing patterns before drug delivery. This preliminary characterization allows the system to pre-determine optimal delivery timing and parameters, ensuring efficient drug deposition without requiring complex real-time adjustments during delivery.
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 accurate, reliable, and convenient daytime screening for OSA with improved drug delivery efficiency by providing real-time feedback and optimizing respiratory drug administration, reducing treatment time and enhancing patient compliance.
Implementation Method 1
processing means for determining at least one anatomical parameter of the upper airway from the recorded utterance
Implementation Method 2
a mechanical coupler comprising a mouthpiece for restricting the jaw position of the patient
Implementation Method 3
said respiratory drug delivering means is adapted to deliver the at least one respiratory drug at said at least one point of time when said cross-section of the upper airway is maximal
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to systems and methods for characterizing at least one anatomical parameter of an upper airway of a patient by analysing spectral properties of an utterance, comprising: a mechanical coupler comprising means for restricting the jaw position of the patient; means for recording an utterance; and processing means for determining at least one anatomical parameter of the upper airway from the recorded utterance and comparing the recorded utterance to a threshold value. In addition the present invention relates to the use of the above mentioned systems as a diagnostics tool for assessing obstructive sleep apnea.