Sleep scoring apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A sleep monitoring apparatus for scoring the quality of sleep experienced by a subject wearing said apparatus for a specified period, said sleep monitoring apparatus comprising:
- a means for sensing the temporal variation in the motion at the location where said apparatus is being worn, an analog to digital converter connected to said sensing means for sampling the data sensed by said motion sensing means, a microprocessor connected to said converter, said microprocessor having embedded programmable memory, a means connected to said microprocessor for storing data, a display means connected to said microprocessor, and firmware that controls the operation of said apparatus by directing the microprocessor to sample the output of said sensing means at a prescribed time interval and to temporarily store said sampled data in said data storage means, by directing the microprocessor to analyze the temporarily stored data to compute a sleep score based on the magnitude of movements recorded during said monitoring period, and by controlling the operation of said display means to display said sleep score.
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Abstract
A method and an apparatus are disclosed for scoring the quality of sleep experienced by a subject wearing the apparatus for a specified period. This sleep monitoring apparatus includes a motion sensor that quantifies the temporal variation in the subject'"'"'s motion, an analog to digital converter to sample the sensor data, a microprocessor with embedded programmable memory to store control and processing firmware, a memory device for data storage, a display means, and a switch for staring and resetting the device. The firmware for this apparatus: (i) directs the microprocessor to sample sensor output at a prescribed time interval and to temporarily store this data in the memory device, (ii) directs the microprocessor to analyze the temporarily stored data to compute a sleep score based on the magnitude of movements recorded during the monitoring period, and (iii) controls the operation of the display means. Upon termination of the sleep period, the apparatus'"'"' display means will display a sleep score based on a scale of 0 to 100. A high score indicates restful sleep (very low movements), while a low score indicates excessive restlessness during the monitored sleep period.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A sleep monitoring apparatus for scoring the quality of sleep experienced by a subject wearing said apparatus for a specified period, said sleep monitoring apparatus comprising:
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a means for sensing the temporal variation in the motion at the location where said apparatus is being worn, an analog to digital converter connected to said sensing means for sampling the data sensed by said motion sensing means, a microprocessor connected to said converter, said microprocessor having embedded programmable memory, a means connected to said microprocessor for storing data, a display means connected to said microprocessor, and firmware that controls the operation of said apparatus by directing the microprocessor to sample the output of said sensing means at a prescribed time interval and to temporarily store said sampled data in said data storage means, by directing the microprocessor to analyze the temporarily stored data to compute a sleep score based on the magnitude of movements recorded during said monitoring period, and by controlling the operation of said display means to display said sleep score. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for scoring the quality of sleep experienced by a subject during a specified period, said method comprising the steps of:
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locating a sleep monitoring apparatus at a prescribed location on said subject, said apparatus having a motion sensing means, an analog to digital converter, a microprocessor having embedded programmable memory, a data storage means, a display means, and firmware that controls the operation of said apparatus, sampling the output of said sensing means at a prescribed time interval, temporarily storing said sampled data in said data storage means, analyzing said temporarily stored data to compute a sleep score based on the magnitude of movements recorded during said monitoring period, and displaying on display means the value of said computed sleep score. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification