Phantom study evaluating detection of simulated upper airway occlusion using piezoelectric ultrasound transducers

Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is characterized by repetitive narrowing or full collapse of the upper airway concomitant with continued respiratory effort during sleep lasting 10s or more. OSAHS is the most prevalent form of sleep-disordered breathing, affecting more than 17% of the middle-aged U.S.

Hence, many individuals need to be tested for having OSAHS. Currently, detection of airway occlusion due to OSAHS is achieved by indirect measurements, often requiring multiple sensor types, such as a flow transducer combined with chest and abdomen plethysmography. The need for the use of multiple sensors in the current OSAHS detection systems adds to the cost and complexity of the current systems and associated procedures. Development of a simple sensor system that allows direct detection of airway occlusion is advantageous, as it simplifies detection of OSAHS and paves the way for home diagnosis of OSAHS. The utilization of ultrasonic transducers is attractive, as it is non-invasive and non-ionizing. We present a new ultrasound sensing system for direct detection of the occlusion in the upper airway in OSAHS patients during sleep. The system takes into consideration the constraints arising from the location of probing and the acoustic requirements for transducers. The physiological and theoretical backgrounds are presented for using ultrasonic pulses to detect the presence and degree of occlusion in the airway. The proposed methodology for creating an anthropomorphically-correct neck and airway phantoms to test the hypothesis and the results of the tests are presented.

An ultrasonic signal transmitted through or reflected from an open airway will have different features compared to those associated with a partially or fully occluded airway.

A system, comprising a phantom model of the airway and neck with the approximate anatomical-correct dimensions and acoustic properties of the airway, is designed and built. It allows simulating fully open airway as well as hypopnea and apnea events. Further, it facilitates probing using multiple ultrasonic frequencies and transducer configurations for use with different neck sizes. Ultrasound waves are generated using a piezoelectric source to the model of the airway and received by piezoelectric receivers on the opposite side. Energy, the area under the curve, and the peak value of the received signal, are used to detect the airway occlusion.

The amount of reflected ultrasonic energy from the phantom model of the airway back to the transmitting transducer reduces as the airway model occlusion increases. Also, transmitted signal through the airway model increases as the amount occlusion of the airway model increases.

The results of this study support the hypothesis that it is feasible to use ultrasonic pulses to detect partial and full upper airway occlusion.