COMPUTER MEASUREMENT OF SLEEP FOR RESEARCH AND DIAGNOSIS

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP ECONOMICAL, EASILY USED MICROCOMPUTER SLEEP SOFTWARE FOR THE DIGITIZATION, SIGNAL ANALYSIS, SUMMARIZATION, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, AND GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF SLEEP EEG DATA. THE SOFTWARE WILL USE ESTABLISHED TECHNIQUES OF PERIOD AND AMPLITUDE ANALYSIS; THESE RETAIN, IN CONTRAST TO SPECTRAL ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES, CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL WAVES. THE SOFTWARE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY APPLICABLE TO THE FOLLOWINGAREAS OF BIOMEDICAL SIGNIFICANCE: ANALYSIS OF CHANGE OF SLEEP PATTERNS WITH AGING, SCHIZOPHRENIA, DEPRESSION, DRUG USE, AND SLEEP DISORDERS INCLUDING INSOMNIA, NARCOLEPSY, AND SLEEP APNEA. THE TARGET MARKET CONSISTS OF ALL SLEEP LABORATORIES, BOTH RESEARCH AND CLINICAL, FOR USE IN SLEEP STUDIES AND DIAGNOSIS. THE SOFTWARE WILL BE DESIGNED TO USE STANDARD, LOW-COST, HIGH-PERFORMANCE MICROCOMPUTER HARDWARE, AN IBM-AT COMPATIBLE, WITH OPTIONAL HIGH-CAPACITY STORAGE CAPABILITY. THE USE OF MODERN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES WILL STRENGTHEN SYSTEM RELIABILITY AND SIMPLIFY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, BOTH OF INCREASED FUNCTIONALITY AND OF THE USER INTERFACE. THE PRIMARY GOALS OF THIS FEASIBILITY STAGE OF THE PROJECT ARE TO DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE USER INTERFACE, AND TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC DESIGN QUESTIONS.