Wearable Device for Sleep Apnea Monitoring

Many people struggle with sleep apnea, a respiratory disorder that often goes undetected and undiagnosed, as current monitoring systems are expensive or require specialized laboratory testing. Given that sleep apnea is characterized by recurrent interruptions of breathing during sleep, which can result in cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic complications if left untreated, early and accurate detection is essential. Therefore, this study proposes a wearable, affordable, Arduino-based device that involves ECG data and chest movements to continuously monitor and alert users when apnea episodes are detected. The MPU6050 accelerometer and the ADS1292R ECG/Respiration Shield are used for recording the signals, and two parameters, the respiratory rate and the heart rate, are computed. To ensure the accuracy as well as the reliability of the proposed method, an additional signal acquisition system is used.