SBIR Phase I: Wireless Sleep Monitor

This SBIR Phase I research proposed is to develop a new technique for detecting Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) without contact with the patient. The proposal will explore the use of Doppler radar technology to provide respiratory movement, heart rate, and activity level that could be used in a Type III Home Sleep Devise (HST) device. With the use of a commercially available wireless pulse oximeter and a wireless airflow sensor, there is potential to build a fully non-intrusive, portable, Type III HST device that could be easily deployed at home and in the field. This research effort involves developing and testing of a robust Doppler radar system for sleep monitoring. The two main objectives of the project are to develop 5.8 GHz Doppler radar hardware that will provide an accurate measure of physiological motion and to develop new methods for detecting OSA. Sleep is widely understood to play a key role in physical and mental health. Yet research indicates that 40 million Americans suffer from insomnia and chronic sleep disorders, with over 12 million Americans suffering from OSA. Serious consequences including increased mortality can result from untreated sleep disorders. The scarcity of sleep clinics and the expense associated with standard PolySomonoGraphy (PSG) techniques allows treatments of only small numbers of OSA cases. Thus the vast majority of OSA cases remain undiagnosed and untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences. This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).