This is a prototype of a new invention apnea monitor (patent number 7,611,472). This demo shows airflow detector installed on a mask.
The new apnea monitor is accurate because it directly detects airflow from patients nose and mouth. The airflow detector can detect airflow that is significantly weaker than breathing of a baby. The sensitivity can be adjusted by turning gossamer little by little. It is easy to adjust the sensitivity so that the apnea detector detects breathing only. And the sensitivity is very stable after adjustment. It should not give any false alarm.
The existing apnea monitors have false positive alarms and false negative alarms because they indirectly measures airflow.
(This paragraph is from Medical Device Safety Reports by ECRI Institute
http://www.mdsr.ecri.org/summary/detail.aspx?doc_id=8130 )
Apnea monitors must include a built-in heartbeat detector. No apnea monitor is capable of detecting every apnea. Because apneas of 20 seconds or longer are often accompanied by decreases in heart rate, most apnea monitors have a built-in heartbeat detector as a backup. Therefore, if an apnea monitor equipped with this feature fails to detect and alarm for the baby's apnea, it can still alarm if a decrease in heart rate also occurs.
The MDSR article says, apneas of 20 seconds or longer are often accompanied by decreases in heart rate,. This means that some apneas of 20 seconds are not accompanied by decreases in heart rate. (Otherwise no apnea detector is needed.) And some decreases in heart rate occur later than 20 seconds. If this is a case, the babies are in danger.
(This paragraph is from Infant Apnea Monitors Help Parents Breathe Easy by FDA http://www.enotalone.com/article/7888.html )
A pause in breathing for less than 20 seconds may also be serious if the heart rate slows significantly.Mixed — the infant has episodes of both central and obstructive all within the same event.
If the apneas are obstructive, the existing apnea detectors cant detect them.
With accurate new apnea detector, it is possible to add more functions to apnea monitor such as warning parents if there is a pause in breathing for less than 20 seconds and heart rate starts slow down ( Do not wait until the heart rate slows significantly or seriously.).
Why apnea monitor using electrodes is not able to detect every apnea? The reason is the apnea monitor is based on a serial of indirect measurements:
1)It intends to measure change of chest volume instead of change of air volume in the chest, which is what it should measure. That is also why it is unable to detect obstructive apnea.
2)It intends to measure change of thickness of the chest instead of change of chest volume. Volume of chest depends on three dimensions, not just one. The other two dimensions may change.
3)It measures change of electrical resistance of chest instead change of thickness of the chest. Resistance of the chest depends on many factors such as percentage of air, percentage of liquids, and percentage of organizations between two electrodes. Those factors may change for unknown reasons.
No wonder the existing apnea monitors have false positive alarms and false negative alarms.
Even if the heartbeat rate detector backup method is perfect, it doesnt take care of false positive alarms. It is easy to find a complaining mother that was waked up by alarms five times a night and found out that the baby was fine.
Anyway, detecting apnea is the primary function of apnea monitor. It makes no sense to keep the inaccurate one if a perfect one is available.
If you have questions, please put down comments and email address. The inventor will contact you. Thank you for watching.
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