Association of wearable motion sensor and electroencephalogram for sleep staging: validation and development of algorithm

• Grant number: 20/00666-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: May 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Renata Redondo Bonaldi
• Grantee: Renata Redondo Bonaldi
• Company: SleepUp Tecnologia em Saúde Ltda
• CNAE: Desenvolvimento e licenciamento de programas de computador não-customizáveis ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• Associated researchers: Gabriel Natan de Souza Pires ; Ksdy Maiara Moura Sousa Werli ; Mariana Cardoso Melo ; Paula Villena Redondo
• Associated research grant(s): 22/13130-9 - Wearable electroencephalogram band development and integration with a customizable therapeutic software for monitoring and remote treatment of sleep disorders and complaints, AP.PIPE

Abstract

SleepUp is an early-stage startup, formed by senior professionals and doctors in the fields of engineering, life sciences and computer science. It was founded in 2019, after the Founder Institute acceleration program (largest accelerator of early-stage startups in the world) and is currently headquartered in Distrito InovaHC, innovation hub of Hospital das Clínicas. The company aims to offer an integrated, personalized and virtual solution for the monitoring, treatment and prevention of insomnia, with the purpose of improving the quality of people's sleep, and reducing the prevalence of sleep-related complaints, which affect 40% to 70% of the population. The solution is based on monitoring and treating sleep at the patient's home (point-of-care), via telemedicine and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i), using technologies such as Internet of things (IoT), wearable technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The solution consists of Digital Platform (application and software) and Wearable Technology. The application captures data from sensors and questionnaires used and answered by the user. The software performs the analyzes and returns reports and personalized orientations to the user, through the application, together with the virtual monitoring of the CBT-i. Wearable technology monitors sleep in order to personalize and monitor the effectiveness of the treatment, being the product non-invasive, light, flexible, comfortable and low cost. There is no knowledge of other companies developing or selling similar solutions in the country or abroad, integrating all technologies in a single product. The competitive differential is in the integration, personalization and digitalization of the treatment using wearable technologies and virtual CBT-i with the benefit of improving the effectiveness, engagement, accessibility and democratization of insomnia treatment. The company's main expected result in PIPE 1 is the techno-scientific validation of the use of wearable technologies in sleep staging, with the ultimate goal of developing an accurate and applicable algorithm for the SleepUp solution. Among the technologies to be used, the use of wearables for sleep monitoring still presents fragile evidence. Similar technologies currently available often start from the mistaken premises of Sleep Medicine and fail to present validation and comparison studies with gold standard methods (such as PSG). The biggest challenge and scientific innovation is in the quality of the wearable technology and the algorithm developed to obtain the desired precision. The continuity of this study will be the clinical evaluation of the treatment, to be submitted to PIPE 2, together with parallel and complementary studies related to IoT and AI, which will be submitted and carried out with Fapesp and / or partners. The impact of this techno-scientific validation on the company is the viability of wearable technologies for use in its treatment, as well as the generation of intellectual protection. The impact on the market, on the other hand, is of extreme relevance and global priority, since it addresses objective 3 "Ensuring a healthy life and promoting the well-being for all" of the UN Sustainable Development, thus improving the quality of life of millions of people. (AU)