Weng Chi-Kai, Chen Jeng-Wen, Lee Po-Yang, Huang Chih-Chung
Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Ultrasound Med Biol. 2017 Aug;43(8):1639-1650. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.04.004. Epub 2017 May 15.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder characterized by the repeated collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep. Previous studies have reported that tongue base deformation may be a major contributing factor. However, overnight monitoring of tongue motion in patients with OSA has previously been impracticable. We developed a wearable ultrasound device for prolonged recording during natural sleep of the changes in tongue base thickness (TBT) in patients with OSA. The maximum TBT was fed into a polysomnography system so that physiologic signals and TBT data were simultaneously monitored. Subject trials revealed that TBT increased significantly during snoring, hypopnea and apnea events during natural sleep in patients with OSA. Moreover, the data revealed that the location of the maximum TBT during normal breathing was significantly different compared with the location during obstructive respiratory events, which implies a posterior or inferior displacement of the tongue base during sleep apnea.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是一种呼吸障碍，其特征是睡眠期间咽部气道反复塌陷。先前的研究报告称，舌根变形可能是一个主要促成因素。然而，此前对OSA患者的舌头运动进行夜间监测并不可行。我们开发了一种可穿戴超声设备，用于在OSA患者自然睡眠期间长时间记录舌根厚度（TBT）的变化。将最大TBT输入多导睡眠图系统，以便同时监测生理信号和TBT数据。受试者试验表明，OSA患者在自然睡眠期间打鼾、呼吸浅慢和呼吸暂停事件期间TBT显著增加。此外，数据显示，正常呼吸期间最大TBT的位置与阻塞性呼吸事件期间的位置有显著差异，这意味着睡眠呼吸暂停期间舌根向后或向下移位。
