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Jan. 09, 2017
  

BGU researchers have developed a new system to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity and analyze sleep-wake activity that can be done while a patient is awake, using his or her smartphone. According to Dr. Yaniv Zigel, head of the Biomedical Signal Processing Research Lab, this technology is simpler to use than the current gold standard, overnight polysomnography (PSG), and significantly less expensive. The new system does not require any sensors to be connected to the patient. Instead, it utilizes a program that can even be downloaded onto a smartphone to analyze speech and sleep sounds.  


"One of the main goals of sleep medicine today is to improve early diagnosis and treatment of the flood of subjects presenting with sleep disorders,” says Prof. Ariel Tarasiuk Ph.D., head of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Unit, Soroka University Medical Center. 

"We’ve developed a non-contact speech signal analysis that can assist in early diagnosis of OSA and sleep disorders. By using smartphone technology it is possible to estimate the number of apnea and hypopnea events for each hour of sleep even in awake subjects! This technology enables fast and accurate diagnosis of OSA without the need for an overnight sleep study,” say Dr. Zigel and Prof. Tarasiuk. 

“Currently all sleep studies (in laboratory or at-home settings) require the subjects to be connected to numerous electrodes and sensors. Data is processed and visually examined or mathematically transformed manually in order to reveal insights into sleep/wake states and many aspects of physiology. This procedure is time-consuming, tedious, and costly due to its complexity and the need for technical expertise; the market is begging for a better solution,” says Eliran Dafna who developed the breathing-sound system as part of his Ph.D. research.  

Their new speech and breathing sound analysis systems were tested on more than 350 subjects using ambient microphones (or a smartphone) in parallel to the gold standard sleep study, in both laboratory and at-home settings. The researchers found that snoring and breathing sounds during sleep can be reliably detected using their system, and sleep quality parameters, such as sleep/wake activity, snoring severity, and OSA, can be evaluated from the detected breathing/snoring sounds. 

“Our data indicate that audio-based analysis can provide a simple and comfortable alternative method for evaluation of sleep and its disorders,” says Prof. Tarasiuk.  

One of the best things about the new system is that the application is a non-contact sleep tracking system, so patients do not need to wear anything on their body. They do not even need to be asleep to check for OSA. The application can also be very useful if a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine user wants to check the effectiveness of their therapy for sleep apnea.  

A device incorporating their system could be portable or stationary, and displayed in public locations or clinics at a much lower cost compared to the expensive polysomnographic tests, which require the user to visit a specialized hospital and spend the night wearing uncomfortable monitoring equipment.