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A smart pajama top has been created to help detect sleep disorders and provide an alternative to visiting a sleep clinic. The garment, developed by Professor Luigi Occhipinti and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, U.K., is integrated with a series of graphene strain sensors that sense subtle vibrations in the neck muscles, even when the pajama top is worn loosely around the neck and chest.
The sensors embedded in the pajama top can identify six different sleep states with 98.6 percent accuracy, while ignoring regular sleep movements such as tossing and turning. The energy-efficient sensors only require a handful of examples of sleep patterns to successfully identify the difference between regular and disordered sleep. The data collected is transmitted to a nearby device where it is processed using SleepNet, a “lightweight” AI program designed by the researchers.
“Poor sleep has huge effects on our physical and mental health, which is why proper sleep monitoring is vital,” said Prof. Occhipinti. “However, the current gold standard for sleep monitoring, polysomnography (PSG), is expensive, complicated and isn’t suitable for long-term use at home.”
Home devices that are simpler than PSG, such as home sleep tests, typically focus on a single condition and are bulky or uncomfortable. Wearable devices such as smartwatches, while more comfortable to wear, can only infer sleep quality, and are not effective for accurately monitoring disordered sleep.
“We need something that is comfortable and easy to use every night but is accurate enough to provide meaningful information about sleep quality,” said Occhipinti.
By treating the smart pajamas with a special starching step, they were able to improve the durability of the sensors so they can be run through a regular washing machine. The most recent version is also capable of wireless data transfer, meaning the sleep data can be securely transferred to a smartphone or computer.
The researchers are hoping to adapt the sensors for a range of health conditions or home uses, such as baby monitoring, and have been in discussions with different patient groups. They are also working to improve the durability of the sensors for long-term use.
The research was supported in part by the EU Graphene Flagship, Haleon, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of U.K. Research and Innovation (UKRI).