TIME DOMAIN DESCRIPTION OF POLYSOMNOGRAPHY DATA

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is proposed to develop time domain analysis tools for polysomnography data and to use the color dimension to improve the accuracy of the polysomnography data displayed on a computer monitor in thirty second (or longer) epochs. The time domain tools will lead to improved methods for objectively quantifying the information contained in polysomnography data which will supplement the information obtained from sleep staging. The project's feasibility will be demonstrated in Phase I by developing tools for quantifying the slow-wave activity present in the data. The tools will include a graphical interface to facilitate the user inputs and provide multiple means for obtaining the processed data. A database management system will also be developed for managing the sleep-wave data. Computer monitors, because of their limited resolution, are unable to display polysomnography data in thirty second epochs. Unless means are taken to prevent frequency aliasing, the data displayed may be severely distorted. This work will develop frequency discrimination techniques which can utilize the additional dimension of color to more accurately display digital polsomnography data.