Characterizing collapse during obstructive sleep apnea through fiber optic manometry

摘要

A multimodal catheter for characterizing airway collapse in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was introduced at PhotonicsWest in 2019. This newly developed device showed the potential for improved diagnosis of OSA with the aim todistinguish which patients would benefit from one of the variety of treatments currently available. We build upon thesefindings and present preliminary results for in-vivo studies that highlight the ability of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) basedpressure and temperature measurements to characterize upper airway obstruction during OSA. Significantly, our recentdata is derived from a sleep study in a human subject with diagnosed OSA during natural sleep as it is considered thatupper airway collapse occurs differently when awake or in a drug induced state. We demonstrate how pressuremeasurements from 10mm spaced FBGs can determine the location of the site(s) of collapse. Using video recordings fromthe catheter integrated micro-camera, we also identify the mechanism of collapse and associated anatomical features.Combining the video capture with the simultaneous and temperature independent optical measurements we presentevidence of upper airway collapse during natural sleep. It is considered that improved diagnostic data of this kind wouldadvance the ability of clinicians to better guide subsequent therapeutic interventions.