Bozkurt Investigates New Technology to Detect Sleep Disorders

Dr. Alper Bozkurt, in collaboration with Duke University School of Medicine, has been awarded $414,218 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research methods of monitoring sleep and detect sleep disorders with a long term goal of developing a low cost, low power, low noise, ultra-miniaturized, wireless system for automated assessment of sleep physiology.

According to a review carried out by the Institute for Medicine, 50-70 million people in the United States suffer from a chronic disorder of sleep and wakefulness.  Such disorders diminish a person’s ability to function, adversely impacts their health, and decreases longevity.

Dr. Alper Bozkurt. Photo by Marc Hall

Dr. Alper Bozkurt, in collaboration with Duke University School of Medicine, has been awarded $414,218 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research the capability of a miniaturized, wireless near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system to monitor sleep and detect sleep disorders with a long term goal of developing a low cost, low power, low noise, ultra-miniaturized, wireless system for automated assessment of sleep physiology.

According to Bozkurt, current systems for objectively monitoring sleep physiology and diagnosing sleep disorders suffer from a number of widely-recognized shortcomings.  These shortcomings limit the capacity of researchers to make advances in understanding sleep and sleep disorders and diminish the capacity of clinicians to detect and treat patients suffering from these conditions.

The research team hopes that this project has the potential to improve the lives of the millions of people suffering from sleep disorders.

The award will run from September 22nd, 2014 to August 31st, 2016.