Apnea Treatment in Premature Infants Using an Automatic Vibro-tactile Stimulator Triggered by the Detection of Apnea-bradycardia.

Overview

The goal of the SENSITACT system is to activate an adaptive kinesthetic stimulation to treat apnea-bradycardia events on preterm infants, while minimizing deleterious effects, in particular arousals that can be due either to respiratory efforts or to kinesthetic stimulation itself. This novel system will provide an alternative treatment to apnea-bradycardia, with improved patient comfort and autonomy. In particular, it may become a complementary solution for the current treatments (Manual stimulation by caregivers, continuous or intermittent nasal positive pressure ventilation and methylxanthine therapies) that do not appear to be optimal and usually only allow a partial reduction in the number and severity of apneas.

The main hypothesis behind the SENSITACT system is that kinesthetic stimulation can terminate apneas-bradycardias with minimal patient arousal. The aim is to stimulate mechanoreceptors through the skin by kinesthetic stimulation on the lower abdominal zone. This is a region of the body that is covered with Pacinian corpuscles, a very sensitive kind of mechanoreceptors, which respond to rapid vibrations on the skin (200-300 Hz). Vibro-tactile stimulation of these mechano-receptors will trigger a reaction typical of the startle reflex. This reflex causes 1) an immediate myotonic reaction and 2) a widespread autonomic response. The former should have a direct effect on obstructive respiratory disorders with an increase in chin muscle tones within 80 to 100 ms. The latter should act on central respiratory disorders, with activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Since both responses are mediated via sub-cortical nervous center, it is expected that patient arousal will be limited. Preliminary clinical studies on adult patients conducted by LTSI, Sorin CRM and CHU de Grenoble (Skin\&SAS, HYPNOS, EKINOx), that have used the same PASITHEA stimulation device have confirmed activation of the sympathetic nervous system and a significant reduction in the duration of apnea or hypopnea events, while no differences were observed on patients' sleep architecture. The SENSITACT system is able to detect apneas-bradycardias in real-time, so that kinesthetic stimulation can be triggered to stop respiratory disorders very early during the event. Detection is performed within the SENSITACT controller station that receives data from all sensors connected to the Patient Monitor in real-time. As soon as the early signs of an apnea-bradycardia are detected, the SENSITACT controller sends a trigger signal to the PASITHEA stimulator that immediately activates kinesthetic stimulation. Kinesthetic stimulation is stopped when a normal condition (normal cardiac rhythm) is detected or when a maximum number of stimulation pulses have been reached.