Technologies to Target Circadian Rhythm Disruption in PTSD

This STTR project will develop a wearable sensor suite for accurate assessment of circadian and sleep rhythms with the goal to identify abnormalities in PTSD patients and enable personalized therapy to help restore their normal functional and quality of life. Phase I has already demonstrated proof-of-principle hardware. The primary Phase II objective is to successfully carry out a human subjects study, at the San Diego VA, that samples circadian-related biochemical rhythms (cortisol, melatonin, neurotransmitter levels) with simultaneously acquired physiological sensor data (EEG, GSR, temperature, PPG/HR/HRV/SpO2, motion and ambient light/sound) to determine correlates between circadian activity and physiological measurements as well as abnormalities that are associated with PTSD. Supporting the study, our second Phase II objective is to continue advancing the Phase I hardware prototype into a pre-production model that meets the signal quality, wearability and durability requirements for multi-day acquisition. This sets the stage for subsequent efforts to conduct expanded studies, develop automated analysis algorithms, and clinical intervention protocols with the ultimate goal of a closed-loop PTSD diagnosis and intervention product.