Method and apparatus for verifying compliance with dental appliance therapy

A dental appliance therapy compliance system comprising:

• a compliance monitoring apparatus for use with a dental appliance;
• and
• a compliance verification apparatus coupled for communication with the compliance monitoring apparatus over a communication link,
• the compliance monitoring apparatus comprising:
• a spatial orientation sensor operable to measure a spatial orientation of the apparatus relative to a direction of gravity;
• a compliance monitoring processor operatively coupled to the spatial orientation sensor and operable to generate a series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes corresponding respectively to a series of periods during a dental appliance therapy session, wherein for each of the periods, the compliance monitoring processor is operable:
• to use the spatial orientation sensor to generate a plurality of spatial orientation measurements corresponding respectively to a series of intervals within the period;
• to determine a magnitude of a maximum variation of the plurality of spatial orientation measurements, to generate the maximum spatial orientation variation magnitude corresponding to the period;
• a compliance monitoring memory operatively coupled to the compliance monitoring processor to store the series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes;
• a battery operatively coupled to power the spatial orientation sensor, the compliance monitoring processor, and the compliance monitoring memory;
• and
• a communication module operatively coupled to the compliance monitoring processor to communicate the stored series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes to the compliance verification apparatus;
• and
• the compliance verification apparatus comprising a compliance verification processor operable to perform a method for verifying compliance with the dental appliance therapy for a human patient by determining whether the dental appliance was in a human mouth during the dental appliance therapy session or was in a water bath during the dental appliance therapy session, the method comprising:
• receiving at the compliance verification processor from the compliance monitoring apparatus over the communication link the series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes;
• transforming by the compliance verification processor at least a portion of the series of the maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes to a frequency-domain series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes;
• determining by the compliance verification processor a spatial orientation power ratio of a total power in each of two frequency bands in the frequency-domain series of maximum spatial orientation variation magnitudes, the two frequency bands including a first frequency band indicative of a physiological spatial orientation frequency characteristic of a human mouth and a second frequency band indicative of a mechanical spatial orientation frequency characteristic of a water bath;
• determining by the compliance verification processor that the dental appliance was in the human mouth during the dental appliance therapy session when the spatial orientation power ratio is within pre-selected power ratio tolerances, and otherwise determining that the dental appliance was in the water bath;
• and,
• transmitting or storing data related to the determined compliance.