Measuring Sleep Stages and Screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea with a Wearable Multi-Sensor System in Comparison to Polysomnography

Abstract

Objective

To assess the performance of a wearable multi-sensor system (SensEcho) in comparison to polysomnography (PSG) in measuring sleep stages and searching for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods

Participants underwent overnight simultaneous monitoring using SensEcho and PSG in a sleep laboratory. SensEcho analyzed the recordings spontaneously, and PSG was assessed as per standard guidelines. The degree of snoring was evaluated according to the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of OSA hypopnea syndrome (2011 revision). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to assess general daytime sleepiness.

Results

This study included 103 Han Chinese, 91 of whom (age 39.02 ± 13.84 years, body mass index 27.28 ± 5.12 kg/m2, 61.54% male) completed the assessments. The measures of total sleep time (P = 0.198); total wake time (P = 0.182); shallow sleep (P = 0.297), deep sleep (P = 0.422), rapid eye movement sleep (P = 0.570), and awake (P = 0.336) proportions were similar between SensEcho and PSG. Using an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) cutoff of ≥ 5 events/h, the SensEcho had 82.69% sensitivity and 89.74% specificity. Almost the same results were obtained at an AHI threshold of ≥ 15 events/h. Although the specificity increased to 94.67%, it decreased to 43.75% at an AHI cutoff of ≥ 30 events/h.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that SensEcho can be used to evaluate sleep status and screen for OSA. Nevertheless, improving the accuracy of its assessment of severe OSA and further testing its effectiveness in community and home environments is necessary.

Keywords:

• wearable multi-sensor system
• polysomnography
• sleep stages
• obstructive sleep apnea

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital and we made sure that each participant had signed written informed consent.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2501504).