Patent ID: 6529752
Filing Date: 2003-03-04
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A sleep disorder breathing event counter for counting the number of sleep disordered breathing events experienced by a subject within a specified time period, said counter comprising:an oxygen saturation level sensor for location at a prescribed site on said subject, said sensor providing output data that quantifies the temporal variation in the subject's oxygen saturation level at said prescribed site, an oximetry conditioning and control module connected to said sensor that controls the operation of said sensor and converts said sensor output data to oxygen saturation level data, a miniature monitoring unit connected to said module, said unit having a microprocessor, a memory device, a timer for use in time-stamping data, a display means and a recall switch, and firmware for said unit that directs: (i) the sampling of said oxygen saturation level data at a prescribed frequency and temporarily stores said data in said memory device, (ii) said unit to analyze using a specified method said temporarily stored data to identify and count the occurrence of said subject experiencing disordered breathing events, and to store in said memory device the time of occurrence of each of said events, and (iii) said display means to display specified information pertaining to said counts in response to the actuation of said recall switch.