Systems, methods, and/or apparatuses for non-invasive monitoring of respiratory parameters in sleep disordered breathing

Abstract

In certain example embodiments, an air delivery system includes a controllable flow generator operable to generate a supply of pressurized breathable gas to be provided to a patient for treatment and a pulse oximeter. In certain example embodiments, the pulse oximeter is configured to determine, for example, a measure of patient effort during a treatment period and provide a patient effort signal for input to control operation of the flow generator. Oximeter plethysmogram data may be used, for example, to determine estimated breath phase; sleep structure information; autonomic improvement in response to therapy; information relating to relative breathing effort, breathing frequency, and/or breathing phase; vasoconstrictive response, etc. Such data may be useful in diagnostic systems.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air delivery system, comprising:
 a controllable flow generator operable to generate a supply of pressurized breathable gas to be provided to a patient for treatment;   a pulse oximeter; and   a controller configured to determine sleep structure information for the patient and track the sleep structure information to indicate a therapy's effectiveness based at least in part on output from the pulse oximeter.   
     
     
         2 . The air delivery system of  claim 1 , wherein the sleep structure information includes information about the patient's start, finish, and/or REM sleep states. 
     
     
         3 . The air delivery system of  claim 2 , wherein information about the patient's sleep state is extrapolated via heart period analysis. 
     
     
         4 . The air delivery system of  claim 1 , wherein the controllable flow generator is adapted to provide Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). 
     
     
         5 . The air delivery system of  claim 1 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by performing statistical or fractal analysis of pulse interval data. 
     
     
         6 . The air delivery system of  claim 1 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by analyzing heart-rate variability indices to indicate sleep onset. 
     
     
         7 . A method for diagnosing sleep disordered breathing, said method comprising:
 deriving a pulse oximeter signal from a patient;   processing the pulse oximeter signal to generate a patient effort signal indicative of respiratory rate; and   tracking sleep structure information for the patient to indicate a therapy's effectiveness.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the sleep structure information includes information about the patient's start, finish, and/or REM sleep states 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein information about the patient's sleep state is extrapolated via heart period analysis. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by performing statistical or fractal analysis of pulse interval data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by analyzing heart-rate variability indices to indicate sleep onset. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the patient effort signal is based upon an arterial blood pressure waveform variation in peak-to-peak amplitude. 
     
     
         13 . A respiratory effort monitoring apparatus, comprising:
 a pulse oximeter configured to derive a pulse oximeter signal; and   a signal processor configured to receive the pulse oximeter signal and generate a patient effort signal indicative of respiratory rate;   wherein the signal processor is configured to track sleep structure information for the patient to indicate a therapy's effectiveness.   
     
     
         14 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the sleep structure information includes information about the patient's start, finish, and/or REM sleep states. 
     
     
         15 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein information about the patient's sleep state is extrapolated via heart period analysis. 
     
     
         16 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the signal processor is configured to trend sleep structure information for the patient to indicate a therapy's effectiveness over a period of time. 
     
     
         17 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by performing statistical or fractal analysis of pulse interval data. 
     
     
         18 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the sleep structure information is tracked by analyzing heart-rate variability indices to indicate sleep onset. 
     
     
         19 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the patient effort signal is based upon an arterial blood pressure waveform variation in peak-to-peak amplitude. 
     
     
         20 . The respiratory effort monitoring apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a filter adapted to filter heart rate out of the pulse oximeter signal.