Researchers
are working on a smartphone-based technology which can help track sleep
disorders, like sleep apnea, much easier than visiting a doctor.
Using earbuds, equipped with an in-line microphone and an Apple iPhone,
researchers from Florida State University and New Jersey-based Stevens
Institute of Technology analyzed participants' breathing habits during a
six-month study.
When compared to a chest-worn respiration
monitor, the smartphone-based device monitored participants' breathing
to within half a breath per minute, the MIT Technology The
team tested the sensitivity of the microphone on the earbuds for
recording breathing rate and also modified the earbuds to act as
additional microphones.
While the breathing rate was measured
most accurately when the earphone was worn or kept next to a
participant's pillow and multiple microphones were used, the study also
showed it worked well with just the unmodified earphones on a bedside
table.
According to Yingying Chen, an associate professor at
Stevens Institute of Technology, the team plans to release a smartphone
app to study sleep disorders next year.
"Using the app would be
an accurate and significantly cheaper method to track quality of sleep
and could help identify sleep apnea and other potential health
problems," the study's authors noted.
A paper on the technology is scheduled to be presented at the IEEE Infocom conference in April, 2015.
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