Vibratory Cough Suppression via Tracheal Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for chronic cough, such as medications and conscious suppression, are limited by side effects and invasiveness, failing to effectively manage uncontrolled coughing that affects a significant portion of the population, leading to quality of life issues and sleep disturbances.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive device that applies vibratory stimulation to the trachea and subglottal region using a vibrator placed on the neck, interfering with sensory endings of the recurrent laryngeal nerve to desensitize the area and reduce cough reflex sensitivity, thereby suppressing chronic cough.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If medications such as dextromethorphan or opiates are used to treat chronic cough, then cough suppression is achieved, but sedation and addiction side effects occur limiting dosage and duration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces pharmacological treatment with a mechanical vibration-based system. A vibratory device is applied to the throat area to stimulate mechanoreceptors, creating a mechanical intervention that suppresses cough reflexes without the harmful side effects of medications. This substitution eliminates sedation and addiction risks while maintaining cough control effectiveness.
2Ease of operation
If patients consciously suppress their coughing, then some cough control is achieved, but it is difficult to do and causes sleeping difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The vibratory device enables patients to self-administer cough suppression therapy at home without medical supervision. The device is portable and easy to operate, allowing patients to apply vibration to their own throats when needed. This self-service approach improves ease of operation compared to conscious suppression techniques while maintaining reliability through consistent, controlled vibration delivery.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a non-invasive device is used to suppress chronic cough, then invasiveness is reduced, but the mechanism for effective cough suppression must be established
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs mechanical vibration as the core mechanism for non-invasive cough suppression. The vibratory device generates controlled vibrations that penetrate to the throat area, stimulating mechanoreceptors in the subglottic and tracheal regions. This mechanical vibration approach achieves effective cough suppression without invasive procedures, establishing a reliable non-invasive treatment mechanism.
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
The vibratory stimulation effectively reduces cough frequency by desensitizing mechanoreceptors and cortical activity, providing a non-invasive, long-term solution that can be used in everyday settings without medical supervision, improving quality of life for patients with chronic cough.
Implementation Method 1
A vibrational transducer may be disposed on the skin surface overlying the cricoid cartilage and trachea region of a patient's neck to apply a vibratory stimulation
Implementation Method 2
The vibratory stimulation effectively reduces cough frequency by desensitizing mechanoreceptors and cortical activity
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a vibrational transducer, a placement band, a driver module and a control module. The placement band is configured to hold the vibrational transducer adjacent to the skin surface overlying the cricoid cartilage and trachea region of a patient's neck. The driver module is configured to apply a drive signal to the vibrational transducer. The control module is configured to receive at least one input configured to provide vibrational operating information and control the driver module to cause the vibrational transducer to apply a vibratory stimulation in an amount determined, at least in part, by the vibrational operating information.