Wearable Artificial Intelligence for Sleep Disorders: Scoping Review

Worldwide, 30%-45% of adults have sleep disorders, which are linked to major health issues such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Long-term monitoring with traditional in-lab testing is impractical due to high costs. Wearable artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions offer accessible, scalable, and continuous monitoring, improving the identification and treatment of sleep problems.

This scoping review aims to provide an overview of AI-powered wearable devices used for sleep disorders, focusing on study characteristics, wearable technology features, and AI methodologies for detection and analysis.

Seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, and Scopus) were searched for peer-reviewed literature published before March 2024. Keywords were selected based on 3 domains: sleep disorders, AI, and wearable devices. The primary selection criterion was the inclusion of studies that utilized AI algorithms to detect or predict various sleep disorders using data from wearable devices. Study selection was conducted in 2 steps: first, by reviewing titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening. Two reviewers independently conducted study selection and data extraction, resolving discrepancies by consensus. The extracted data were synthesized using a narrative approach.

The initial search yielded 615 articles, of which 46 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis. The majority of studies focused on sleep apnea. Wearable AI was widely deployed for diagnosing and screening disorders; however, none of the studies used it for treatment. Commercial devices were the most commonly used type of wearable technology, appearing in 30 out of 46 (65%) studies. Among these, various brands were utilized rather than a single large, well-known brand; 19 (41%) studies used wrist-worn devices. Respiratory data were used by 25 of 46 (54%) studies as the primary data for model development, followed by heart rate (22/46, 48%) and body movement (17/46, 37%). The most popular algorithm was the convolutional neural network, adopted by 17 of 46 (37%) studies, followed by random forest (14/46, 30%) and support vector machines (12/46, 26%).

Wearable AI technology offers promising solutions for sleep disorders. These devices can be used for screening and diagnosis; however, research on wearable technology for sleep disorders other than sleep apnea remains limited. To statistically synthesize performance and efficacy results, more reviews are needed. Technology companies should prioritize advancements such as deep learning algorithms and invest in wearable AI for treating sleep disorders, given its potential. Further research is necessary to validate machine learning techniques using clinical data from wearable devices and to develop useful analytics for data collection, monitoring, prediction, classification, and recommendation in the context of sleep disorders.