Sleep Stage Detection Using Adaptive Sensory Stimuli
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting sleep stages, such as polysomnography (PSG), are not easily deployable at home without specialized medical personnel and lack user-friendly solutions for accurate sleep quality feedback, which is essential for improving sleep habits.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a stimulus source, sensors, and processors that analyze physiological responses to sensory stimuli to estimate sleep stages and adjust stimuli to improve accuracy, allowing for home-based sleep stage detection without requiring medical assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If polysomnography (PSG) is used to accurately detect sleep stages, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to requiring specialized medical personnel and lab environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of sleep stage detection from the complex PSG system by using only selected physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, movement) that can be measured with simple consumer-grade sensors, eliminating the need for complex EEG/ECG/EMG equipment and specialized medical personnel
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-monitoring of sleep stages by consumers without requiring medical personnel or lab environment. The wearable device automatically collects physiological data, processes it through algorithms, and provides sleep stage feedback to users, making the complex PSG function accessible to ordinary consumers
2Measurement precision
If polysomnography (PSG) is used to accurately detect sleep stages, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation worsens due to requiring specialized medical personnel and lab environment
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-monitoring of sleep stages by consumers without requiring medical personnel or lab environment. The wearable device automatically collects physiological data, processes it through algorithms, and provides sleep stage feedback to users, making the complex PSG function accessible to ordinary consumers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical/electrical PSG equipment with simple wearable sensors that automatically detect physiological parameters. The system substitutes sophisticated medical instrumentation with consumer-grade wearables combined with computational algorithms to achieve sleep stage detection
3Measurement precision
If sensory stimuli are provided to reassess sleep stages, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies sensory stimuli only partially - specifically when the probability of accuracy fails to breach the predetermined threshold. This conditional application of stimuli avoids continuous energy consumption while still improving accuracy when needed, balancing energy use with measurement precision
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods to detect sleep stages of a subject analyze physiological parameters of the subject in combination with a subject's reactions to stimuli of increasing intensity and/or stimuli having different modalities. Stimuli are provided until a predetermined level of probability is reached for the accuracy of an estimation of the sleep stage of the subject.