“SchlafCheck”: mobile sleep monitoring in the general practice

Sleep disorders are among the most common health challenges in Germany. Around ten percent of the population suffers from chronic sleep problems. Persistent lack of sleep not only lowers quality of life but also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Despite these risks, many patients do not receive adequate treatment, partly because sleep medicine is not sufficiently integrated into general healthcare.

General practitioners usually provide advice on sleep hygiene and basic anamnesis, but comprehensive sleep diagnostics are mostly carried out in specialized sleep laboratories. Long waiting times often delay diagnosis and treatment. According to Dr. Markus Ennen, a general practitioner from Oldenburg:

“There is a lack of low-threshold options in primary care for obtaining an objective initial assessment of sleep problems. A mobile device, similar to a long-term ECG or long-term blood pressure measurement, could provide valuable sleep data from the patient's home environment and speed up an initial diagnosis.”

The Fraunhofer IDMT and the University Medicine Oldenburg launched the “SchlafCheck” project to explore how sleep diagnostics could be better integrated into primary care. The study provided general practices in Oldenburg with digital sensor systems for mobile sleep monitoring. Around 60 test subjects with sleep difficulties participated.

Each participant received a commercially available mobile sensor system and combined it with a questionnaire and a sleep diary. Most participants managed the self-measurement after initial instructions. However, some reported difficulties in attaching the sensors, leading to discussions about simplified usability.

Dr. Wiebke Pätzold, project manager at Fraunhofer IDMT, explained:

“In the future, mobile devices could be used to integrate sleep tests into regular check-ups in specific cases. Primary care physicians could identify problems earlier and determine the necessary treatment steps, from recommendations on sleep hygiene to justified referrals to a specialist sleep diagnostics facility.”

The field study demonstrated that digital sleep monitoring in general practice is feasible and valuable. “We were quickly able to find suitable partners for the project in the large teaching practice network of the University Medicine Oldenburg. Direct exchange with the practice teams revealed opportunities and challenges in the implementation of digital sleep monitoring systems,” explain Marianne Timper and Prof. Michael Freitag from the University of Oldenburg.

The Fraunhofer IDMT research group “Mobile Neurotechnologies” is now using the findings to develop its own mobile EEG system for long-term use at home. The results highlight the potential of integrating sleep diagnostics into primary care and reducing the risk of secondary diseases through earlier interventions.

MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT