.Irvine sensors Corporation proposes to demonstration ultra-thin, very small, flexible, lightweight EMG sensor to study sleep disorders. The proposed sensor is an unobtrusive and ambulatory approach that can be used in non-laboratory settings ( e.g. in-home ). The sleep sensor will sense the movement of the eyelid by sensing the activity of the muscles that activate the eyelid. It will consist of circuits, thinned to 25 micron and mounted on a flexible substrate with interface electrodes that are in contact with the surface of the skin using adhesives ( like in medical bandages or band-aids ) on either side of the electrode area. A miniature, flexible battery provides the power to the sensor. The data will be collected in an electronic non-volatile memory. At the end of the monitoring period, the sensor will be removed from the skin. The connectorized interface will be used to download data to a host computer where further analysis and archiving will take place. The combination of thin silicon circuits with space saving electronic and innovative biomedical design can yield biomedical sensors that can take the shape of their environment.
Developed biomedical sensor can be used by sleep disorder researchers in clinical or field studies to study sleep-wake patterns and may contribute to the identification and treatment of millions of Americans with undiagnosed sleep disorders. By enabling employers to identify and treat employees with undiagnosed sleep disorders cost-effectively, such devices may reduce the danger and cost of catastrophic accidents. A general-purpose wearable muscle signal sensor has also applications in monitoring critical operators such as astronauts or pilots for fatigue. The same sensor can be used in clinical studies or monitor muscle problems at home, during exercising and in sports medicine. A similar wearable device for sensing muscle signals can be used to monitor condition of military personnel such as fatigue or exposure to chemical warfare and in protecting individuals who are at risk such as agricultural workers in chemical factories, fire fighters, police officers, security officers.
