An innovative system for the transmission and storage of polysomnography data is proposed with the aim of creating a more efficient way to share, archive, and remotely access sleep studies. The system will include an open file specification, a network transmission protocol, and the tools needed to integrate them into existing software. The file specification will be based on XML and developed with input from a peer review process. The specification will be superior to existing open file formats in that it will be extensible and simpler to integrate into existing systems. A network transmission protocol will also be developed which will allow access to sleep studies from any computer connected to a TCP/IP network, including the Internet. The protocol will take advantage of the way polysomnography data is stored and displayed to net compression ratios of 3:1 to 20:1 with no loss in display quality. Patient privacy will be preserved using access controls and strong encryption. This will make it practical to monitor, review, and score sleep studies using low cost Internet connections. Both the file specification and network protocol will be made available to third parties along with software development and file conversion tools. The project will be based on advanced development technology and concepts including interpreted languages, ATL, and XML. The resulting system will improve health care and reduce costs by providing physicians and researchers more flexibility, and better access to patient data.
