SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DETECTING SLEEP DISORDERS

摘要

An apparatus (100) for detecting sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, includes a housing (10) insertable into an ear canal of a subject. A sensor (206) disposed within the housing measures a position of the subject's head relative to an axis of gravity. A transducer (212) is responsive to the sensor and is capable of creating a stimulus detectable by the subject under certain conditions. In various embodiments, a controller (202) receives signals corresponding to a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject's head measured by the sensor, determines if the pitch and roll angles correspond to a sleep apnea inducing position, and causes the transducer to generate a stimulus upon determining that the subject's head is in the sleep apnea inducing position more than a predetermined threshold number of times. Various parameters of the stimulus may be modified with successive stimulus generation until a non- sleep apnea inducing position is detected.