In the scope of the MSc Thesis SleepDiary – Sensor based sleep patterns and nocturnal activity analysis, researchers at Fraunhofer AICOS are developing a system that enables measuring sleep quality and sleep efficiency based on data acquired from sensors during the night-time. The system is composed of external sensors connected to a smartphone with the application.
The system autonomously analyses sleep quality and detects fluctuations in normal sleep-wake patterns. The vital signs of the patient are also monitored. Then, the results provided by the system are compared with the data provided by the Polysomnography.
The validation tests were carried out at the hospital with patients who used the system during the period of sleep at night (8 hours), and was submitted to a Polysomnography at the same time.
The system, which must also be able to analyse sleep by using the sensors from the smartphone only, can give an important contribution to the study of sleep disorders like insomnia, excessive sleepiness and circadian-rhythm disorders.