KR20170019934A

KR20170019934A - System and method for diagnosing sleep state

Info

Publication number: KR20170019934A
Application number: KR1020150114462A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 남동우
Original assignee: 재단법인대구경북과학기술원
Priority date: 2015-08-13
Filing date: 2015-08-13
Publication date: 2017-02-22

Abstract

A sleep state diagnostic system is provided. The system includes a microphone for measuring a sound signal generated around the neck of a sleeping person and a communication module connected to the microphone by a wire to receive the sound signal, And analyzing the received sound signal to analyze the sleep state including the sleep apnea state and the snoring state of the sleeper.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a sleep state diagnosis system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for diagnosing a sleep state, and a system and a method for diagnosing a sleep disorder such as snoring and sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a state of respiratory arrest during sleep. Sleep apnea is a common symptom in people with severe snoring. In the case of snoring, various causes are caused by the relaxation of the respiratory airway (the relatively soft posterior part of the mouth) and the number of claws Which is also referred to as " current water "). Such snoring causes complications such as heart disease, hypertension, neurological disorders, endocrine disorders, pulmonary disease, cerebral infarction, psychiatric disorders, sexual dysfunction and the like.

Therefore, it is desirable to identify whether or not sleep apnea symptoms and snoring symptoms are present in the subject, and if the degree of sleep apnea symptoms is severe, it is desirable to perform the treatment accordingly.

Various diagnostic tools have been developed to detect sleep apnea and snoring symptoms.

Conventionally, a diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a sleep state diagnoses a sleep state by attaching a plurality of electrodes to a face region and measuring various signals generated during the sleep state in a state where various equipment is attached to the abdomen and chest, do.

In such a conventional sleep state diagnostic apparatus, a plurality of electrodes are attached to the face portion and a plurality of wires are connected to the electrodes.

In normal sleep, the general person has several times of sleep apnea. In the course of the backstroke, the abdominal and chest attached diagnostic equipment may cause abdominal and thoracic pressure and cause sleep disorder.

In addition, the conventional sleep state diagnostic apparatus diagnoses the sleep state based on measurement results such as oxygen saturation and heart rate change. Because factors such as oxygen saturation and heart rate change require complex calculations, And complex hardware implementations.

Therefore, it is urgent to develop a system that can be implemented with simple hardware without disturbing the sleep state and diagnose the sleep state without complicated operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sleep state diagnosis system and a method thereof, which are implemented with simple hardware without disturbing the sleep state of a measurement subject and diagnose the sleep state without complicated calculation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sleep state diagnostic system including a microphone for measuring a sound signal generated in the vicinity of a neck of a sleeping person and a communication module connected to the microphone by a wire to receive the sound signal, A mask member comprising; And a diagnostic device for receiving the sound signal from the communication module through wireless communication, analyzing the received sound signal, and analyzing a sleep state including a sleep apnea state and a snoring state of the sleeper using analysis results, .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for diagnosing a sleep state, comprising the steps of: measuring a sound signal generated around a neck of a sleeping person using a microphone built in a mask member; The method comprising the steps of: transmitting a sound signal to a diagnostic device via wireless communication; analyzing a sound signal transmitted from the communication module to determine whether the sleep state of the sleeping person is a sleep apnea state or a snoring state; And outputting a result of the determination whether the diagnostic equipment is in the sleep apnea state or the snoring state on a display screen.

According to the present invention, a comfortable measurement environment is provided to a person who measures the sleep state of the person to be measured. Easy to use with ease of use at home. Since there is no incidental line, it does not interfere with the sleep of the person to be measured, and there is no risk of a safety accident. It is possible to prevent an emergency due to apnea during sleep. It is possible to provide a measure of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease by checking the sleeping condition of the patient in usual.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a sleep state diagnostic system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a communication module provided on the second seating member shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the diagnostic equipment shown in Fig.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a sleep state diagnostic method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a sleep state diagnosis system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a sleep state diagnostic system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mask member 100 and a diagnostic equipment 200.

The mask member 100 measures a sound signal generated in the vicinity of the neck of the sleeper and transmits the measured sound signal to the diagnostic equipment 200 using wireless communication.

The diagnosis apparatus 200 receives the sound signal from the mask member, analyzes the received sound signal (or sound pressure), analyzes the sleep state of the sleeper, and outputs the analysis result to a visual and / And converts it into an information form and provides it to the measurer. The measurer diagnoses the sleeping state of the sleeping person on the basis of the above-mentioned analysis result converted into the visual and / or auditory information form.

In addition, the diagnostic equipment 200 may generate a notification signal indicating an abnormal sleep state when an abnormal sleep state such as a sleep apnea state is detected as a result of analyzing the sleep state, and transmits the generated notification signal to the mask To the member (100).

Hereinafter, the mask member 100 and the diagnostic equipment 200 will be described in more detail.

In the mask member 100,

The mask member 100 includes a first seating member 110, a second seating member 130 and a connecting member 150 connecting the first seating member 110 and the second seating member 130 do.

The first seating member 110 is configured to be seated on both sides of the face of the sleeping person and the lower portion of the jaw so as to surround both sides of the face and the lower portion of the jaw and the second seating member 120 is seated on the head of the sleeping person .

The connecting member 150 is made of a flexible material so that the first seating member 110 can be easily and flexibly arranged on both sides of the face of the sleeping person and the jaw around the sleeping person in a state in which the second seating member 120 is seated on the head of the sleeping person .

A microphone 112 for collecting sound signals generated in the vicinity of the neck of the sleeper and a vibration member 114 for generating vibration are provided in the first seating member 110. Here, the vibration member 114 may be a vibration motor.

A communication module 132 is provided on the second seating member 130. The communication module 132 is electrically connected to the microphone 112 by a first line L1 and electrically connected to the vibration member by a second line L2.

The communication module 132 is configured to receive a sound signal generated in the vicinity of the neck of the sleeper measured by the microphone 112 and transmit the received sound signal to the diagnostic equipment 200 through low power wireless communication. The diagnostic apparatus 200 analyzes the sound signal transmitted through the low-power wireless communication to determine the lifespan state of the sleeping person.

Since the diagnostic equipment 200 and the mask member 100 worn by the sleeping person transmit and receive various kinds of information in a wireless communication manner, additional lines for connecting the diagnostic equipment 200 and the mask member 100 are required none. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the situation where the sleeping is interrupted by a plurality of lines in the course of sleeping person's sleeping like the conventional diagnostic equipment.

The communication module 132 is configured to receive a notification signal indicating that the sleeping person is sleeping from the diagnostic equipment 200 according to wireless communication.

The communication module 132 transmits the received notification signal to the vibration member 114 through the second line L2 and the vibration member 114 generates vibration in response to the notification signal do.

When the sleeping person is in a sleeping apnea state, the vibration member 114 causes the sleeping person to wake up from the sleeping state through the vibration, thereby preventing an emergency due to sleep apnea.

On the other hand, the first and second lines L1 and L2 may be disposed on the connecting member 150. Here, the connecting member 150 is made of a material having elasticity, and pulls the first seating member 110, which surrounds the jaw of the sleeping person, toward the head. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the opening of the jaw during respiration and to prevent oral dryness by preventing oral breathing. This prevents the snoring noise from being released from the mouth and prevents the generation of rubbing noise of the dried tissue. It also induces nasal breathing to improve sleep quality.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a communication module provided on the second seating member shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

2, the communication module 132 provided on the second seating member 130 includes a wired communication unit 132A, a signal processing unit 132B, and a wireless communication unit 132C.

The wired communication unit 132A is electrically connected to the microphone 112 through the first line L1 and is electrically connected to the vibration member 114 through the second line L2 to perform an interface function . The wired communication unit 132A may include a filter for amplifying a sound signal measured by the microphone 112 and removing noise of the amplified sound signal, though not shown in the figure.

The signal processing unit 132B converts a sound signal measured by the microphone 112 into a signal that can be processed by the wireless communication unit 132C. For example, the sound signal amplified and filtered by the wired communication unit 132A is converted into a digital signal, and the converted digital signal is converted into a signal that can be processed by the wireless communication unit 132C.

The wireless communication unit 132C is a wireless communication interface for transmitting the digital signal to the diagnostic equipment 200 by wireless communication, and converts the digital signal into a wireless signal based on the promised wireless communication protocol. Here, the wireless communication protocol may be a protocol defined in Bluetooth communication or Wi-Fi communication.

3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the diagnostic equipment shown in Fig.

3, the diagnostic equipment 200 is a computing device configured to perform wireless communication with a communication module 132 provided on the second seating member 130. Basically, the diagnostic equipment 200 includes a wireless communication unit 210, A signal processing unit 220 and a display unit 230.

The wireless communication unit 210 wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication unit 132C of the communication module 132 included in the mask member 100. The wireless communication unit 210 receives wireless communication such as Bluetooth communication or Wi- And provides the received radio signal to the signal processing unit 220. The signal processing unit 220 receives the radio signal.

The signal processing unit 220 detects a sound signal from the radio signal and analyzes the pulse waveform of the detected sound signal to determine whether the sleeping person's sleeping state is sleep apnea or snoring.

Through repeated experiments, the inventors have found that spike pulses are measured at the beginning of the pulse waveform of the sound signal in the sleep apnea state, and the sound signal is hardly measured after the measurement.

If a pulse exceeding the first threshold is detected in the pulse waveform of the sound signal, the signal processing unit 220 detects the pulse as a spike pulse, and detects a spike pulse from a point of time when the spike pulse is detected, A pulse of a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value is detected during the sleep apnea state, it is determined that the sleeping person is in the current sleep apnea state. Here, the second threshold value is defined as a threshold value preset as a size of a negligible signal as a sound signal of a very low magnitude.

In the case of snoring, it corresponds to the size of the factory noise at about 85dB, depending on the friction and trembling of the internal tissues. From this fact, when the signal processing unit 220 detects a pulse lower than the first threshold value and larger than the third threshold value, it determines the sound signal as a snoring signal. Here, the third threshold may be defined as a threshold corresponding to 85 dB.

The signal processing unit 220 displays numerical values of sleep apnea or snoring and transmits the numerical results to the display unit 230.

The numerical value indicating the degree of sleep apnea may be a numerical value indicating a class which is classified according to the number of times of detection of the spike pulse.

The grade can be divided into mild sleep apnea, elevated sleep apnea and severe sleep apnea. Mild sleep apnea indicates 5-15 hours of sleep apnea per hour, that is, 5-15 per hour of spiked pulses, and 15-15 hours per hour of spiked pulses. Severe sleep apnea indicates a case in which a spiked pulse is detected 30 times or more per hour.

Further, when the signal processing unit 220 detects the sleep apnea state, the signal processing unit 220 generates a notification signal and transmits the generated notification signal to the communication module 132 of the mask member 100. The communication module 132 transmits a driving signal corresponding to the notification signal to the vibration member 114 and the vibration member 114 is connected to the driving signal received from the communication module 132 in order to wake the sleeping person in the sleep apnea state And vibrates in response.

The signal processing unit 220 can transmit the notification signal to the communication module 132 of the mask member 100 at an appropriate transmission period according to the class. That is, in the mild sleep apnea state where the degree of sleep apnea is relatively low, the signal processing unit 220 transmits the notification signal to the communication module 132 of the mask member 100 in the first transmission cycle, and the severity of the sleep apnea The notification module may be configured to transmit the notification signal to the communication module 132 of the mask member 100 at a second transmission period shorter than the first transmission period.

The numerical value indicating the degree of snoring can be a numerical value indicative of each step, by dividing the detected pulse size step by step. The stage can be divided into mild, severe, etc.

The signal processing unit 220 converts the digitized result into visual information in which the text and the graph are combined and transmits the converted visual information to the display unit 230. The display unit 230 displays the text and the graph on a display screen ) To the measurer.

The measurer analyzes the sleeping state of the sleeping person through the text and the graph displayed on the display screen, and confirms the diagnosis about the sleeping state.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a sleep state diagnostic method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In describing each of the following steps, with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the parts overlapping with those described in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be briefly described.

Referring to FIG. 4, a sound signal generated around the neck of the sleeping person is measured using a microphone 112 built in the mask member 100 (S410).

Next, the communication module 132 built in the mask member 100 transmits a sound signal measured by the microphone 112 to the diagnostic equipment 200 through low-power wireless communication (S420).

Then, the diagnostic equipment 200 analyzes the sound signal received from the communication module 132 (S430).

Then, it is determined whether the sleep state is sleep apnea (S440).

Next, when it is determined that the sleep apnea state is established, the diagnostic equipment transmits a notification signal indicating the sleep apnea state to the mask member 100 through low-power wireless communication (S450). Here, as a method of determining the sleep apnea state, when a pulse exceeding the first threshold value is detected in a pulse waveform of a sound signal, the pulse is detected as a spike pulse, and from the time point when such spike pulse is detected, If a pulse of a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value is detected during the set time, it is determined that the sleeping person is in the current sleep apnea state.

Then, the vibration member 114 built in the mask member 100 vibrates in response to the received notification signal to awaken sleepers in the sleep apnea state (S460). Such a vibration function may be controlled so that it can be turned on / off according to the user's selection. The hardware for the on / off operation may be a switch. In this case, the switch (not shown) may be implemented in the communication module 132 provided on the second seating member 130. For example, when the vibration function is turned off according to the switching operation of the switch, the communication module 132 transmits a driving signal for activating the vibration member 114 to the vibration member 114 ).

Alternatively, the on / off operation of the vibration function may be controlled by the diagnostic equipment 200. For example, when a control signal for turning off the vibration function in the diagnostic equipment is wirelessly transmitted to the communication module 132 provided on the second seating member 130 of the mask member 100, The communication module 132 may operate so as not to output the driving signal for activating the vibration member 114 to the vibration member 114 even when the notification signal is received from the diagnostic equipment 200 in response to the control signal.

If it is determined that the snoring state is not the sleep apnea state at step S440, it is determined whether the snoring state is present (S470). Here, as a method of determining the snoring state, when a pulse lower than the first threshold value and larger than the third threshold value is detected, the sound signal is determined as a snoring signal. Here, the third threshold may be defined as a threshold corresponding to 85 dB.

As a result of the determination, if the snoring state is determined, the current sleep state indicating the snoring state is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 230.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be appreciated that many variations and applications not illustrated are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention can be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that all changes and modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

A microphone for measuring a sound signal generated in the vicinity of a neck of a sleeping person, and a communication module connected to the microphone by a wire to receive the sound signal; And
A diagnostic device for receiving the sound signal from the communication module via wireless communication, analyzing the received sound signal, and analyzing a sleep state including a sleep apnea state and a snoring state of the sleeper using analysis results
And a sleep state diagnostic system.

The mask according to claim 1,
A first seating member which is seated on both sides of the face of the sleeping person and a lower portion of the jaw, and which includes the microphone;
A second seating member seated on the head of the sleeping person, the second seating member including the communication module; And
Connecting the first seating member and the second seating member such that the first seating member elastically presses both sides of the face and the jaw of the sleeping person in a state where the second seating member is seated on the head of the sleeping person, A connecting member including a microphone and a line for electrically connecting the vibrating member to the communication module,
And a sleep state diagnostic system.

The diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
When a spike pulse exceeding a first threshold value is detected in a pulse waveform of the sound signal and a pulse of a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value is detected for a predetermined time from a point of time when the spike pulse is detected And the sleep state of the sleeping person is determined to be a sleep apnea state.

4. The diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3,
Wherein a sleep state of the sleeping person is determined to be a snoring state when a pulse having a pulse waveform of the sound signal lower than the first threshold and larger than the third threshold is detected.

5. The sleep state diagnostic system of claim 4, wherein the third threshold is a threshold corresponding to 85 dB.

The diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
Generates a notification signal when the sleep state of the sleeping person is determined to be a sleep apnea state, and transmits the generated notification signal to the communication module included in the mask member.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the mask member further comprises an oscillating member,
The vibration member
Receives a driving signal corresponding to the notification signal from the communication module, and generates a vibration in response to the driving signal.

8. The method according to claim 7,
A first seating member seated on both sides of the face of the sleeping person and a lower portion of the jaw, the first seating member including the microphone and the vibration member;
A second seating member seated on the head of the sleeping person, the second seating member including the communication module; And
Connecting the first seating member and the second seating member such that the first seating member elastically presses both sides of the face and the jaw of the sleeping person in a state where the second seating member is seated on the head of the sleeping person, A connecting member including a microphone and a line for electrically connecting the vibrating member to the communication module,
And a sleep state diagnostic system.

Measuring a sound signal generated around the neck of a sleeping person using a microphone built in a mask member;
Transmitting a sound signal measured by the microphone through a communication module built in the mask member to a diagnostic equipment by wireless communication;
Analyzing a sound signal transmitted from the communication module to determine whether the sleeping state of the sleeping person is a sleep apnea state or a snoring state;
A step of outputting a result of the determination whether the diagnostic equipment is the sleep apnea state or the snoring state on a display screen
Wherein the sleep state diagnosis method comprises the steps of:

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of determining whether the sleep apnea state and the snoring state is &
When a spike pulse exceeding a first threshold value is detected in a pulse waveform of the sound signal and a pulse of a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value is detected for a predetermined time from a point of time when the spike pulse is detected, Judging whether or not it is in a state; And
Determining if the sleeping person is in a snoring state if a pulse in the pulse waveform of the sound signal is detected that is lower than the first threshold and greater than a third threshold corresponding to 85 dB;
Wherein the sleep state diagnosis method comprises the steps of:

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, when it is determined that the sleeping person is in the sleep apnea state in the step of determining whether the sleeping apnea state and the snoring state,
Generating a notification signal by the diagnostic equipment;
Transmitting the notification signal to the communication module built in the mask member by wireless communication;
Wherein the vibration member built in the mask member generates vibration in response to a notification signal from the communication module
And diagnosing a sleep state of the subject.