Method and Apparatus For Maintaining and Monitoring Sleep Quality During Therapeutic Treatments

Abstract

The present invention monitors and interprets physiological signals and spontaneous breathing events to detect the onset of arousal. Once the onset of arousal is determined, the present invention determines adjustments that are needed in the operation of a therapeutic device to avoid or minimize arousals. In one embodiment, the present invention includes one or more sensors which detect a patient's physiological parameters, a controller which monitors and determines the onset of arousal based on the physiological variables received from the sensor, and a therapeutic treatment device which is controlled by the controller. The sensor can be a combination of one or more devices which are able to monitor a physiological parameter that is used by the present invention to determine the onset of arousal or the onset of a sleep disorder. The sensors can be integrated into one unit or may operate independent of the others.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a plurality of sensors for monitoring a plurality of physiological signals;   a processor adapted to detect an onset of arousal from the plurality of physiological signals.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include EEG sensors. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include EMG sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include an airflow sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include an ECG sensor and an SpO 2  sensor and wherein the processor is adapted to calculate PTT. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors include a body position sensor. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is adapted to test a patient's sensitivity to arousal. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory device adapted to store values for physiological parameters that indicate arousal for a particular patient. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory device, and wherein the processor is adapted to store the physiological signals in the memory device. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is adapted to display raw data and derived indexes from the physiological parameters according to user selected formats.