In vivo characterization of ultrasonic transducers for the detection of airway occlusion in Sleep Disordered Breathing

Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) is the most common form of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) and it is estimated to affect approximately 15% of US adult population. Various methods have been proposed for the development of inexpensive screening methods to detect SDB to reduce the need for costly nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG). In this paper, a description of the ultrasonic transducer design and characterization is presented, followed by the results of a full night sleep study. The findings show a significant difference in the temporal features extracted from the received ultrasonic waveform during apneic breathing, compared to the hyperventilation that follows. Therefore, the findings indicate the feasibility of developing an ultrasonic detection device for low cost diagnosis of SDB.