Apparatus, system and method for determining compliant use of an intraoral appliance
A compliance monitoring system ( 40 ) for an intraoral appliance comprises a power source ( 460 ), a detector ( 410 ) for detecting when the intraoral appliance is positioned in the mouth for use, a recorder ( 430 ) configured to record measurement data, and a transponder ( 440 ) configured to communicate the measurement data. The monitoring system is adjustable based on a particular property of a patient or a group of patients.
1 . An intraoral device for treatment of sleep disorder of a patient, comprising:
memory;
a detector;
processing circuitry coupled to the memory and the detector;
interrupt circuitry configured to periodically interrupt a sleep state of the processing circuitry,
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the intraoral device to:
based on the sleep state of the processing circuitry being interrupted by the interrupt circuitry to power the processing circuitry, determine, based on a signal received from the detector, if the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient, and
based on determining that the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient, record, in the memory, measurement data including a value that is a difference between a first signal received from the detector and a second signal received from the detector, and time data in association with the measurement data; and
a transponder coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to communicate the recorded measurement data and the recorded time data to an external device.
2 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the intraoral device further comprises a single flexible printed circuit board and a power source, and wherein the memory, the power source, the detector, the processing circuitry, the interrupt circuitry and the transponder are arranged on the single flexible printed circuit board and are encapsulated with a biocompatible material.
3 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the external device is a remote processing system configured to determine and report compliant or non-compliant use of the intraoral device based on the measurement data received from the transponder.
4 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the transponder is configured to communicate the recorded measurement data and the recorded time data to the external device wirelessly.
5 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to periodically activate the detector to capture the signals.
6 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the detector includes at least one signal emitter and at least one signal receiver, and the detector is configured to detect signals received by the at least one signal receiver when the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient for use.
7 . The intraoral device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one signal emitter or the at least one signal receiver is adjustable based on a physical property of the patient or a group of patients.
8 . The intraoral device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one signal emitter includes an infrared-light emitter, and wherein the at least one signal receiver includes an infrared-light receiver.
9 . The intraoral device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one signal emitter includes an ultrasound emitter, and wherein the at least one signal receiver includes an ultrasound receiver.
10 . The intraoral device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one signal emitter includes a current emitter, and wherein the at least one signal receiver includes a voltage receiver.
11 . The intraoral device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one signal emitter and the at least one signal receiver are adjustable and/or are adapted for being calibrated.
12 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the intraoral device comprises a flexible printed circuit board including the processing circuitry.
13 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the intraoral device comprises a lower portion configured to engage a portion of the patient's lower teeth and an upper portion configured to engage the patient's upper teeth.
14 . The intraoral device of claim 13 , wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are encapsulated in a material coupled to the upper portion or the lower portion.
15 . The intraoral device of claim 13 , wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are encapsulated with a single-piece over-moulding.
16 . The intraoral device of claim 13 , wherein the intraoral device is adjustable based on a particular property of the patient or a group of patients.
17 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the measurement data indicates a positioning of the intraoral device.
18 . The intraoral device of claim 17 , wherein the positioning of the intraoral device includes relative positioning between the intraoral device and a tooth, gum, and/or inside of a cheek of the patient.
19 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , further comprising a mandibular repositioning device and a power source, and wherein the power source, the detector, the processing circuitry and the transponder are commonly housed and are provided removably in a cavity in the mandibular repositioning device.
20 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the intraoral device to:
based on determining that the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient after the sleep state of the processing circuitry is interrupted, increment a temporary counter while signals received from the detector indicate that the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient, and
after a set period of time, store data from the incremented temporary counter in the memory.
21 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the intraoral device to, based on the sleep state of the processing circuitry being interrupted, activate the detector.
22 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the intraoral device is determined to be positioned in the mouth of the patient when a measurement represented by the signal received from the detector indicates that a tooth of the patient is detected.
23 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the signal received from the detected includes a plurality of successive measurements.
24 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the signal received from the detector includes two successive measurements and the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient based on a difference between the two successive measurements exceeding a threshold value.
25 . The intraoral device of claim 1 , wherein the first signal and the second signal are successively received from the detector after the interruption of the sleep state of the processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the intraoral device is positioned in the mouth of the patient based on the difference between the first signal and the second signal exceeding a threshold value.
26 . The intraoral device of claim 25 , wherein the first signal corresponds to a measurement made based on operation of the detector and determined according to a first procedure and the second signal corresponds to a measurement made based on operation of the detector and determined according to a second procedure different from the first procedure.