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WO-2026090665-A1 - A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TREATING SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING

WO2026090665A1WO 2026090665 A1WO2026090665 A1WO 2026090665A1WO-2026090665-A1

Abstract

A system and method for treating sleep disordered breathing, wherein positional therapy is delivered through adaptive temperature regulation. The system includes one or more sensors configured to monitor user conditions such as body position, respiratory activity, and sleep quality. Upon detection of a target condition—such as snoring or sleep-disordered breathing in a supine position—the system initiates a control process to apply localised heating and/or cooling to specific regions of the user's body The system may operate in a closed-loop manner, receiving feedback from the sensors to determine the effectiveness of the treatment and adaptively adjusting temperature parameters such as intensity, duration, and location.

Inventors

  • HOLLEY, LIAM
  • AARONS, Joshua John Benjamin
  • Girdauskaite, Lina
  • Vijayakumar, Deeksha
  • SHOULDICE, REDMOND
  • LIANG, Heng

Assignees

  • ResMed Pty Ltd
  • RESMED ASIA PACIFIC LIMITED
  • RESMED SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251029
Priority Date
20241029

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A system for treating a user with sleep disordered breathing, comprising; one or more sensors configured to generate condition data associated with a condition of the user; a temperature control arrangement configured to apply heating and/or cooling to at least one region of the user; memory storing machine readable instructions; and a control system including one or more processors configured to execute machine readable instructions to: receive the condition data associated with the user during a sleep session; determine if a condition of the user, based on the condition data, corresponds to at least one target condition associated with the user’s sleep disordered breathing; and when the user is determined to be in the at least one target condition, cause the temperature control arrangement to instigate a temperature based treatment at the at least one region of the user so as to guide the user to change their sleeping position as therapy for the user’s sleep disordered breathing.
  2. 2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the condition data comprises physiological data associated with the breathing of the user, and position data associated with the sleeping position of the user.
  3. 3. The system according to either claim 1 or 2, wherein the control system is configured to: receive condition data from the one or more sensors during the temperature based treatment, determine, after an elapsed treatment period, if the target condition of the user persists based on the condition data, and when the target condition of the user is determined to persist, cause the temperature control arrangement to adaptively adjust at least one parameter of the temperature based treatment.
  4. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of: the intensity of heating or cooling, the duration of application, the location of temperature delivery, or the timing of temperature control events.
  5. 5. A system for treating a user with sleep disordered breathing, comprising; one or more sensors configured to generate condition data associated with a condition of the user, the condition data comprises physiological data associated with the breathing of the user, and position data associated with the sleeping position of the user; a temperature control arrangement configured to apply heating and/or cooling to at least one region of the user; memory storing machine readable instructions; and a control system including one or more processors configured to execute machine readable instructions to: receive the condition data associated with the user during a sleep session, determine if a condition of the user, based on the condition data, corresponds to at least one target condition associated with the user’s sleep disordered breathing, the target condition including the position of the user; and when the user is determined to be in the at least one target condition, cause the temperature control arrangement to: instigate a temperature based treatment at the at least one region of the user so as to guide the user to change their sleeping position as therapy for the user’s sleep disordered breathing; and adjust at least one parameter of the temperature based treatment if the position of the user remains unchanged after an elapsed time period.
  6. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of: the intensity of heating or cooling, the duration of application, the location of temperature delivery, or the timing of temperature control events.
  7. 7. The system of any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the control system is configured to cause the temperature control arrangement to alternate between heating and cooling, or to apply heating and/or cooling to different regions of the user’s body, in response to the user’s lack of response to a temperature based treatment in a previous period.
  8. 8 The system of any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the control system is configured to cause the temperature control arrangement to alternate the intensity of heating and/or cooling in response to the user’s lack of response to a temperature based treatment in a previous period
  9. 9. The system of claim 7 or 8, wherein the determination of the user’s lack of response is based on monitoring changes of position of the user.
  10. 10. The system of claim 7 or 8, wherein the determination of the user’s lack of response is based on changes of physiological data associated with the breathing of the user.
  11. 11. The system according to any preceding claim, wherein the temperature based treatment ceases on detecting a change of the condition of the user from the target condition.
  12. 12. A system according to claim any preceding claim, wherein the control system is configured to receive sleep data measuring one or more physiological parameters of the user correlated with sleep quality.
  13. 13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the control system utilises the sleep data to determine if a condition of the user corresponds to at least one target condition and/or a parameter of the temperature based treatment at the at least one region of the user under the temperature control arrangement.
  14. 14. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control system is configured to receive temperature data from one or more sensors configured to measure the body temperature of the user.
  15. 15. A system according to claim 14, wherein a characteristic of the regulation of the temperature at the at least one region of the user includes heating or cooling a predetermined amount above or below the measured body temperature of the user.
  16. 16. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control system is further configured to receive environmental data from one or more sensors configured to measure at least one of light exposure, temperature, or humidity in the user’s environment.
  17. 17. A system according to claim 17, wherein a parameter of the temperature based treatment at the at least one region of the user is dependent on a measured characteristic of the environmental data.
  18. 18. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the target condition is associated with one or more of: a condition relating to the position of the user; a condition relating to the respiration of the user; a condition relating to interruptions in sleep of the user; a condition relating to snoring of the user; a condition relating to snoring magnitude of the user; or a condition relating to snoring frequency of the user.
  19. 19. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the control system is configured to terminate or reduce the temperature event if sensor data indicates that the user’s sleep quality or physiological state is adversely affected by the event.
  20. 20. The system of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the control system is configured to store historical sensor data and user responses temperature based treatment to adaptively refine future temperature based treatments for the user.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TREATING SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present technology relates to one or more of the screening, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, prevention and amelioration of sleep disordered breathing, such as snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea. In particular, the present technology relates to using positional therapy for a patient for treating and/or preventing sleep disordered breathing, such as snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea. BACKGROUND [0002] The respiratory system of the body facilitates gas exchange. The nose and mouth form the entrance to the airways of a patient. [0003] The airways include a series of branching tubes, which become narrower, shorter and more numerous as they penetrate deeper into the lung. The prime function of the lung is gas exchange, allowing oxygen to move from the inhaled air into the venous blood and carbon dioxide to move in the opposite direction. The trachea divides into right and left main bronchi, which further divide eventually into terminal bronchioles. The bronchi make up the conducting airways, and do not take part in gas exchange. Further divisions of the airways lead to the respiratory bronchioles, and eventually to the alveoli. The alveolated region of the lung is where the gas exchange takes place and is referred to as the respiratory zone. See “Respiratory Physiology” , by John B. West, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 9th edition published in 2012. [0004] A range of respiratory disorders exist. Certain disorders, such as sleep disordered breathing, may be characterised by particular events, e.g. apneas, hypopneas, and hyperpneas. [0005] Examples of respiratory disorders include Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Cheyne- Stokes Respiration (CSR), respiratory insufficiency, Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Neuromuscular Disease (NMD) and Chest wall disorders. [0006] Chronic snoring is a condition affecting a considerable proportion of the population, estimated at 40% by some studies. During sleep, the patient's throat muscles relax, causing a narrowing of the pharynx. The consequence of this narrowing is an increase in the speed of the inhaled air caused by a venturi-type effect. The air excites the flexible part of the soft palate and uvula and these begin to vibrate noisily. The noise created in this way can reach up to 90 decibels. [0007] Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a form of sleep disordered breathing is characterised by events including occlusion or obstruction of the upper air passage during sleep. It results from a combination of an abnormally small upper airway and the normal loss of muscle tone in the region of the tongue, soft palate and posterior oropharyngeal wall during sleep. The condition causes the affected patient to stop breathing for periods typically of 30 to 120 seconds in duration, sometimes 200 to 300 times per night. It often causes excessive daytime somnolence, and it may cause cardiovascular disease and brain damage. The condition is a common disorder, particularly in middle aged overweight males, although a person affected may have no awareness of the problem, e.g. see US Patent No. 4,944,310 (Sullivan). [0008] A patient with respiratory insufficiency (a form of respiratory failure) may experience abnormal shortness of breath on exercise. [0009] Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS) is defined as the combination of severe obesity and awake chronic hypercapnia, in the absence of other known causes for hypoventilation. Symptoms include dyspnea, morning headache and excessive daytime sleepiness. [0010] A range of therapies have been used to treat or ameliorate such conditions. Furthermore, otherwise healthy individuals may take advantage of such therapies to prevent respiratory disorders from arising. However, these can have a number of shortcomings. [0011] Various therapies, such as Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy (e.g., Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or Auto-adjusting Positive Airway Pressure (APAP)), Non- invasive ventilation (NIV), Invasive ventilation (IV), and High Flow Therapy (HFT) have been used to treat one or more of the above respiratory disorders. [0012] Respiratory pressure therapy, such as PAP therapy, is the application of a supply of air to an entrance to the airways at a controlled target pressure that is nominally positive with respect to atmosphere throughout the patient’s breathing cycle (in contrast to negative pressure therapies such as the tank ventilator or cuirass). [0013] Such respiratory therapies may be provided by a respiratory therapy system or device. Such systems and devices may also be used to screen, diagnose, or monitor a condition without treating it. [0014] PAP therapy, such as CPAP or APAP therapy, has been used to treat Sleep Apnea (such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)). The mechanism of action is hypothesized to be that positive airway pressure acts as a pneumatic splint and may