A home sleep apnea screening device with time-domain signal processing and autonomous scoring capability

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Traditional sleep apnea diagnosis involves inconvenient and costly overnight laboratory studies.
• Millions of individuals with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and untreated due to accessibility barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, single-channel apnea screening solution for home use.
• To create a convenient and accessible method for identifying potential sleep apnea conditions.

Main Methods:

• Design and assembly of a prototype device incorporating a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor for nasal airflow measurement.
• Development of a time-domain signal processing integrated circuit (IC) for apnea detection and autonomous scoring.
• Fabrication of the IC chip using standard 0.5-μm CMOS technology.

Main Results:

• The prototype device demonstrated effective respiratory rhythm detection and sleep apnea screening in a clinical setting.
• Apnea-hypopnea indices (AHI) were successfully scored, indicating the severity of sleep apnea conditions.
• Test results validated the device's potential as a valuable screening tool.

Conclusions:

• The proposed MEMS-based device offers a cost-effective and user-friendly solution for sleep apnea screening at home.
• This technology can significantly improve accessibility to diagnosis for undiagnosed sleep apnea patients.
• The device shows promise for broader public health application in identifying sleep apnea conditions.