Disclosure of Invention
The application provides a lingual muscle stimulator which can adapt to electrode position deviation and further improve wearing experience.
The application provides a lingual muscle stimulator, comprising:
an electrode which is placed in the oral cavity in a use state and is used for electrically stimulating genioglossus muscles;
a sensor for acquiring a pressure signal between the tooth and the tongue;
A controller configured with a computer program to implement the steps of:
Receiving the pressure signal and identifying a current tongue movement mode according to the pressure signal;
and predicting a driving signal according to the tongue motion mode, and correspondingly driving the electrode to implement electric stimulation.
The following provides several alternatives, but not as additional limitations to the above-described overall scheme, and only further additions or preferences, each of which may be individually combined for the above-described overall scheme, or may be combined among multiple alternatives, without technical or logical contradictions.
In one embodiment, when the current tongue movement mode is identified according to the pressure signal, the method specifically includes:
continuously obtaining the pressure signal to obtain pressure time sequence data;
And identifying a tongue movement mode corresponding to the pressure time sequence data through a first priori relation.
In one embodiment, the sensor is configured in pairs and correspondingly obtains two paths of pressure time sequence data, and the identifying the tongue mode includes:
calculating a correlation coefficient r1 of two paths of pressure time sequence data;
Calculating a correlation coefficient r2 of pressure time sequence data to be compared in the first priori relation of each path of pressure time sequence data;
And determining the tongue motion mode according to the correlation coefficient r1 and the correlation coefficient r 2.
In one embodiment, the same tongue movement mode comprises a plurality of movement phases, and the current movement phase is also identified through the first prior relation when the tongue movement mode is identified.
In one embodiment, corresponding pressure sampling modes are configured for different motion phases, and the pressure signal is obtained according to the pressure sampling modes.
In one embodiment, when predicting the driving signal according to the tongue mode, the method specifically includes:
and calculating a driving signal corresponding to the current motion stage through a second priori relation by using the pressure signal of the current motion stage.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises:
and obtaining pressure time sequence data of a subsequent motion stage by using the pressure signal of the current motion stage and a motion state space prediction model, and predicting a corresponding driving signal.
In one embodiment, the method further includes calibrating the driving signal, and specifically includes:
Obtaining corresponding first impedance information according to the current sampling signal;
comparing the first impedance information with second impedance information corresponding to the current driving signal;
and updating the motion state space prediction model according to the comparison result, and re-predicting the driving signals of the subsequent motion stage by using the updated motion state space prediction model to finish calibration.
In one embodiment, updating the motion state spatial prediction model includes:
Comparing the first impedance information with the second impedance information and obtaining a deviation value;
determining the adjustment trend of model parameters in the motion state space prediction model according to the deviation value;
and determining an adjustment amplitude according to the adjustment trend to finish updating.
In one embodiment, the acquiring the sampling signal by using the electrode includes:
determining an electrode sampling mode according to the current tongue mode;
And acquiring the sampling signal according to the electrode sampling mode.
The lingual muscle stimulator can electrically stimulate the genioglossus muscle through the electrode, and simultaneously can predict and calibrate specific stimulation parameters in the driving signal by combining the pressure signal acquired by the sensor, so that the hysteresis stimulation problem in the prior art can be avoided, and the wearing feeling and the using effect are improved.
Detailed Description
In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the application will be readily understood, a more particular description of the application will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. The present application may be embodied in many other forms than described herein and similarly modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the application, whereby the application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "mounted" or "disposed" on another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When a component is considered to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or intervening components may also be present. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and the like are used in the description of the present application for the purpose of illustration only and do not represent the only embodiment.
Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.
In the present application, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, a first feature "up" or "down" on a second feature may be that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature and the second feature are in indirect contact through intermedial media. Moreover, a first feature "above," "over" and "on" a second feature may be a first feature directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicate that the first feature is higher in level (or in a state of use, or in view of some drawing) than the second feature. A first feature "under", "beneath" and "under" a second feature may be a first feature directly under or obliquely below the second feature, or merely indicate that the first feature is less level than the second feature (or in a state of use, or at some viewing angle of the drawing).
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in the specification of the present application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in the description of the application herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and/or" as used in the description of the present application includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The driving signal of the lingual muscle stimulator in the prior art is used for controlling the electrode to perform electric stimulation to a preset position, and the driving signal can contain a plurality of stimulation parameters, such as frequency, pulse width, amplitude and the like. The method is characterized in that the method is carried out according to the impedance value in the oral cavity of each user, but the contact area of the electrode and a preset position (such as genioglossus muscle) has strong correlation with the impedance value, for example, in the initial stage, after the corresponding impedance value is measured according to the fitting degree of the electrode and the genioglossus muscle, the stimulation parameters acceptable by the user are adjusted according to the impedance value, but when swallowing or lying on one's side, the tongue movement can cause the lingual muscle stimulator to generate relative displacement, so that the contact area of the electrode and the preset position is changed, and particularly when the contact area is reduced, the stimulation parameters set before are overlarge, and the user is stimulated by electricity. Moreover, the driving signal is regulated and controlled by the impedance simply, and the control precision is limited.
An embodiment of the present application provides a lingual muscle stimulator, which has an electrode and a sensor, wherein the electrode is placed in an oral cavity to electrically stimulate a genioglossus muscle in a use state, the genioglossus muscle is in a fan-shaped distribution when seen from a muscle state of the genioglossus muscle, and the more internal the genioglossus muscle is, the stronger the muscle strength of the genioglossus muscle is, and the electrode is positioned under the tongue and is arranged oppositely, so that the main effect is to stimulate the genioglossus muscle, and generate muscle tension to prevent the tongue root from falling backwards. Can further improve respiration, improve sleep quality, or perform muscle training.
The sensor may specifically be a PVDF film pressure sensor for acquiring a pressure signal between the tooth and tongue, which does not strictly limit the pressure of the surrounding tissue directly acting on the electrode, but has at least relevance, for example, the sensor and the electrode are mounted on the same deformable member, and when the electrode and the surrounding tissue deviate or change in pressure, the sensor can sense the pressure accordingly.
The lingual muscle stimulator may also have an internal or external controller, which may utilize existing technology in terms of hardware itself, but may also be configured to adapt adaptively, the controller may employ a chip with data interaction, storage and processing capabilities, and associated circuitry, etc., and the controller may be communicatively coupled to the electrodes, sensors, and other terminals in a wired or wireless manner.
In order to support and mount the electrode and the sensor, the lingual muscle stimulator of the embodiment further comprises a positioning part for positioning and matching with corresponding tissues in the oral cavity, for example, the positioning part can be positioned in the oral cavity in a mode of a tooth socket and the like, and further comprises a working part which is connected with the positioning part and can be placed under the tongue and close to the genioglossus muscle.
In an improved embodiment, the working part is a deformable bag body, for example, the working part can be a hollow air bag, the positioning parts are provided with tooth clamping grooves and are arranged in pairs, the two positioning parts are connected through a bridge arm, the bridge arm can be further positioned on the tooth and is provided with an interface part extending to the outside of the oral cavity, and the interface part is externally connected with a power supply or an external controller.
The working parts are also arranged in pairs and connected to the corresponding positioning parts, the working parts are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the sublingual, and each working part is provided with an electrode and a sensor.
In the same working part, there are opposite lingual and buccal sides, wherein the electrodes are located on the lingual side of the working part, and the electrodes in the two working parts are arranged opposite each other, and the requirements for the mounting position of the sensor are relatively loose, for example the sensor is located on the lingual side, the buccal side or towards the underside of the oral cavity of the working part, because the deformation of the capsule can transfer pressure changes from a certain direction to other parts of the capsule.
The electrode is sheet-shaped and fixed on the outer surface of the capsule body, the sensor can be fixed on the outer surface of the capsule body to directly sense the pressure of peripheral tissues, or the sensor is arranged in the capsule body to sense the internal stress generated by the deformation of the capsule body, and even can sense the fluid pressure in the capsule body.
Wherein the controller may comprise a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program for execution by the processor. When the tongue muscle stimulator works, the computer program is executed correspondingly to make the controller receive the pressure signal from the sensor and recognize the current tongue motion mode based on the pressure signal, and then predict the driving signal based on the tongue motion mode and drive the electrode to execute electric stimulation.
The two sensors are respectively positioned at two sides of the tongue, two pressure signals can be acquired and obtained during operation, when the tongue inclines towards one side or simultaneously extrudes two sides, the bag body is deformed adaptively, the pressure of the two sensors and the peripheral tissues can be changed, and the corresponding pressure signals can be detected and output by the sensors.
After the sensor continuously obtains pressure signals in a certain time period, pressure time sequence data can be obtained, and then the self characteristics and the relative relation of the two paths of pressure signals are analyzed and compared through the first priori relation, so that a tongue motion mode corresponding to the pressure time sequence data can be identified.
The first priori relationship includes the correspondence between different tongue motion modes and pressure changes at two sides of the tongue, and the common tongue motion modes include a turning motion mode, a swallowing motion mode, a breathing motion mode and the like, and have different pressure signal change characteristics respectively. For example, in the turning-over movement mode, since the tongue is inclined toward one side, the difference in the pressure values of the two pressure signals increases. In the swallowing movement mode, two paths of pressure signals have larger changes in a short time and basically consistent change trend, and the two paths of pressure signals are restored after the changes. In the respiratory movement mode, two paths of pressure signals change smoothly in a longer time, and the similarity of adjacent periods is higher. Based on the principle, a first priori relation can be established for different tongue motion modes for identification and comparison.
The motion state threshold value can be set, when the value or the variation of the pressure signal does not reach the threshold value, the electrode is regarded as no switching of the tongue mode, the electrode continuously works according to the current tongue mode, and when the value or the variation of the pressure signal reaches the threshold value, the tongue mode can be re-identified.
When identifying the tongue pattern, it is possible to calculate:
Correlation coefficient r1 of two paths of pressure time sequence data;
And the correlation coefficient r2 of the pressure time sequence data of each path of pressure time sequence data and the pressure time sequence data of the prior motion mode to be compared in the first prior relation;
and may further determine the tongue pattern in a first prior relationship based on the correlation coefficient r1 and the correlation coefficient r 2.
Aiming at the problem of deviation of motion characteristics in time length in the same motion mode of different crowds, dynamic Time Warping (DTW) can be adopted to calculate the distance between pressure time sequence data and a priori relation sequence, so that the interference of the length of a pressure time sequence data queue on a mode identification result is avoided.
According to the characteristics of the corresponding tongue mode, the tongue mode can be divided into different motion phases according to the corresponding characteristics (such as the change trend or the amplitude of pressure time sequence data) in the same tongue mode, and each motion phase is represented by different change trends of pressure signals and also corresponds to different electric stimulation driving signals, so that the current motion phase is identified through a first priori relationship when the tongue mode is identified.
The second priori relation can be preconfigured according to the characteristics of the driving signals of different phases, and the driving signals corresponding to the current motion phase are calculated by utilizing the pressure signals of the current motion phase and through the second priori relation. The second prior relation can be trained according to historical data, and a corresponding prior model is constructed.
In order to predict the next motion stage or more subsequent motion stages in the same tongue motion mode, after the previous motion stage is identified, pressure time sequence data of the subsequent motion stage can be obtained through the pressure signal of the current motion stage and by utilizing a motion state space prediction model, and is used for predicting corresponding driving signals subsequently.
The tongue pattern and the division of the specific motion phase also correspond to different pressure sampling modes, i.e. the sensors correspond to different sampling frequencies or durations, so as to meet the characteristics of the phase. For example, in the identified turning-over movement mode, it is necessary to increase the sampling frequency when a turning-over operation occurs, then predict the end time of the turning-over operation, and perform a short-time verification sampling at the end time. If in respiratory motion, a verification sample is required in each cycle due to the periodicity of the motion.
Because the contact condition of the electrode and the preset part can be reflected to the change of the impedance more directly, in a further improved embodiment, the application also utilizes the electrode contact to carry out impedance measurement and utilizes the impedance information to calibrate the driving signal, namely, in the follow-up cycle control, the impedance information also participates in the prediction of the driving signal so as to ensure the discharge stimulation effect and the experience of a user.
Different electrode sampling modes can be adopted in impedance measurement, the electrode sampling modes are related to the tongue movement mode or the movement stage, and after the tongue movement mode and the movement stage are identified or determined, the electrode sampling modes are correspondingly adjusted so as to give consideration to control accuracy and energy consumption. For example, in the turning-over motion mode, the impedance change has the characteristic of rapid time-varying, and the electrode sampling mode of impedance measurement can be configured as the verification rapid sampling of the characteristic stage, which is not suitable for the smooth sampling processing of a long time window. However, in the respiratory motion mode, periodic sampling may be performed over a characteristic period of time based on a periodic characteristic.
The driving signal itself may also contain or correlate impedance information, and when calibrating the driving signal, the method specifically includes:
acquiring a current sampling signal by using an electrode, and acquiring corresponding first impedance information according to the current sampling signal;
obtaining second impedance information according to the current driving signal correspondence, and comparing the first impedance information with the second impedance information;
and calibrating the driving signals in the subsequent movement stage according to the comparison result, and performing electric stimulation by using the calibrated driving signals.
The second impedance information is related to the predicted driving signal, but may deviate from the actually measured first impedance information, so that it can calculate whether the first impedance information meets the distribution interval of the second impedance information, and accordingly obtain the deviation value of the first impedance information and the second impedance information, when calibrating the driving signal in the subsequent motion stage, it can determine the adjustment trend of the model parameters in the motion state spatial prediction model according to the deviation value, and further preferably determine the adjustment amplitude to complete the update of the motion state spatial prediction model, re-predict the pressure time sequence data corresponding to the next motion stage or the subsequent multiple motion stages by using the updated motion state spatial prediction model, and calculate the updated (i.e. calibrated) driving signal by using the second prior relation, and implement the electrical stimulation by using the re-predicted driving signal from the next motion stage.
In the whole use process, when two different time periods divide the motion phases through the first priori relation, the two different time periods are possibly identified as the same motion phase, but the two time periods are similar based on the change trend of the pressure signals of the two time periods, but the specific values are different, so that a dynamic mechanism is adopted in the application, the pressure time sequence data of the subsequent motion phases (belonging to the current tongue motion mode) are predicted in real time by using the current motion phase, the motion state space prediction model is continuously updated, the prediction accuracy is ensured, and the treatment effect is improved.
Regarding the specific structure of the lingual muscle stimulator, as further described below with reference to fig. 1-8, the lingual muscle stimulator includes:
a positioning portion 100 for positioning engagement with corresponding tissue in the oral cavity;
A working portion 200 connected to the positioning portion 100, wherein the working portion 200 has a cavity 210, for example, a deformable balloon, i.e., an air bag, and at least a portion of the outer surface of the air bag is a bonding surface adapted to deform along with the shape change of the working portion 200 so as to approach a predetermined portion;
an electrode 300 fixed to the bonding surface for performing electrical stimulation;
a sensor 500 fixed to the working part 200 for collecting a pressure signal;
The controller 600 is electrically connected to the electrode 300 and the sensor 500.
In the joint surface of the working portion 200, the region where the electrode 300 is located is a first region, and the working portion 200 has an initial shape (see fig. 4) that is not pressed, and the first region has a tendency to bulge outward with respect to the peripheral region in the initial shape. Correspondingly, the first area of the working portion 200 changes the protruding degree correspondingly in the pressed state.
The top surface of the working portion 200 is a flat area for resting the tongue, and the electrode 300 is located inside the working portion 200. The outer edge shape of the working portion 200 gradually expands outward from the front side (i.e., the portion toward the labial side in the oral cavity) to the rear side, which further extends beyond the positioning portion 100. The working portion 200 is entirely in a vertically exposed form with one end thereof being reduced and the other end thereof being enlarged.
Referring to fig. 3, the ratio between the length D1 of the electrode 300 and the length D2 of the working portion 200 in the left-right direction in the drawing ranges from 0.35 to 0.85. Referring to fig. 4, the ratio between the height H1 of the electrode 300 and the height H2 of the working portion 200 ranges from 0.25 to 0.75 in the up-down direction in the drawing. The thickness of the electrode 300 matches the wall thickness of the working portion 200.
The positioning portion 100 has a higher strength than the working portion 200, and when the working portion 200 is subjected to an external force, the working portion 200 deforms earlier or to a greater extent than the positioning portion 100. The positioning part 100 and the working part 200 are made of polymer materials with different compositions. Specifically, the polymer material is silica gel, plastic or a composite material added with inorganic materials.
Referring to fig. 2-5, the positioning portion 100 has opposite top and bottom sides with tooth clamping grooves 110. The corresponding tissue with which the positioning portion 100 is engaged is tooth tissue. The tooth clamping groove 110 has two opposite groove walls, the tooth clamping groove 110 corresponds to tooth grinding, the two opposite groove walls of the tooth clamping groove 110 are respectively a buccal side wall 111 and a lingual side wall 112, and the working part 200 is connected to the bottom side of the lingual side wall 112. The positioning portion 100 has opposite inner and outer sides, and the working portion 200 is located at the bottom side of the positioning portion 100 and extends further toward the inner side of the positioning portion 100.
Bridge arm 400 is connected between two positioning portions 100, and bridge arm 400 is connected to the outer sides of two positioning portions 100 and extends along the tooth arrangement trend. I.e. bridge arm 400 is C-shaped. The bridge arm 400 and the positioning part 100 form a tooth socket structure, so that the positioning effect of the positioning part 100 is improved. Further, the bridge arm 400 is provided with a tooth positioning slot 410.
The controller 600 is electrically connected to the electrode 300 and the sensor 500 via the connection line 310 for driving the electrode 300 to perform electrical stimulation and/or detecting a corresponding signal via the electrode 300.
The connection circuit 310 of the electrode 300 may be embedded in one or more of the bridge arm 400, the positioning portion 100 or the working portion 200, as shown in fig. 6 and 8, the controller 600 adopts an external mode, the lingual muscle stimulator is further provided with an interface assembly 430, and the controller 600 is connected with the electrode 300 through the interface assembly 430. For example, bridge arm 400 also includes extension arm 420, and interface assembly 430 is disposed on extension arm 420. Extension arm 420 extends out of the mouth from bridge arm 400 back toward incisor positioning slot 410, and interface assembly 430 is disposed on the end of extension arm 420 that is located outside the mouth.
Referring to fig. 7, the lingual muscle stimulator may further include a sensor 500, the sensor 500 being fixed to the working part 200 for detecting and feeding back a pressure signal to the controller 600. The sensor 500 is shown disposed on the bottom surface of the working section 200.
Referring to fig. 9, based on the lingual muscle stimulator of the above embodiments, the present application also provides a control method of the lingual muscle stimulator, which may also be understood as providing a method for generating an electrode driving signal based on the lingual muscle stimulator. The method specifically comprises the following steps:
Providing a lingual muscle stimulator, wherein the lingual muscle controller comprises a pair of capsules which can be placed at two opposite sides of the sublingual, the capsules are adaptively deformed under the action of peripheral tissues, electrodes and sensors are fixed on the capsules, the capsules can be hollow air bags, in the use process, the air bag is placed in a small gap between the teeth and the tongue, the air bag is compressed and deformed, the electrode contact is tightly matched with the genioglossus muscle, each sensor can accurately collect pressure signals related to peripheral tissues, and the pressure signals can be reflected to corresponding stimulation parameters in the electrode driving signals.
The pressure signals from peripheral tissues are collected through the sensor, when the tongue moves or the pressure of the peripheral tissues of the capsule body changes, the preset part (such as genioglossus muscle) changes the fitting degree with the electrode, the capsule body can firstly compensate and adapt through self deformation, and the current tongue movement mode can be identified according to the pressure signals because the corresponding pressure signals can be obtained by the sensor due to the deformation of the capsule body when the tongue movement amplitude is larger or the compensation effect is still insufficient.
According to the tongue motion mode, the driving signal is predicted, and the electric stimulation is implemented by the corresponding driving electrode, so that the stimulation parameter can be modulated to be in a relatively safe range in advance, impedance measurement is continuously carried out in the later working process, and the stimulation parameter is calibrated according to the result of the impedance measurement. The sampling signal is also obtained by the electrodes, for example during the administration of the electrical stimulation, to calculate first impedance information and to calibrate the drive signal using the first impedance information. Other details regarding the control method may be combined with the above embodiments.
It should be understood that the steps in the flowchart are shown in order as indicated by the arrows, but the steps are not necessarily performed in order as indicated by the arrows. The steps are not strictly limited to the order of execution unless explicitly recited herein, and the steps may be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least some of the steps may comprise a plurality of sub-steps or phases, which are not necessarily performed at the same time, but may be performed at different times, nor does the order in which the sub-steps or phases are performed necessarily performed in sequence, but may be performed alternately or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of the other steps or phases.
All or part of the flow of the control method of the present embodiment may be implemented by a computer program for instructing the relevant hardware, and the computer program may be stored in a non-volatile computer readable storage medium, for example, the controller installed in the foregoing embodiments.
The tongue muscle stimulator can predict signals aiming at tongue movement, solves the problem of hysteresis stimulation, and can further ensure the reliability of driving signals through the calibration of impedance.
The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description. When technical features of different embodiments are embodied in the same drawing, the drawing can be regarded as a combination of the embodiments concerned also being disclosed at the same time.
The above examples illustrate only a few embodiments of the application, which are described in detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. It should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the application, which are all within the scope of the application. Accordingly, the scope of the application should be determined from the following claims.